Morvern Callar
Picture: B Sound: B
Extras: C Film: B+
Director Lynne Ramsey has
an ability to make her films beautifully disturbing, which is a characteristic
very few directors can handle. Although Morvern Callar only marks her second
feature length film following up her 1999 debut Ratcatcher. One can quickly
see an up and coming director in the works as she is maturing in her material
as well as production value in general.
Morvern (played by
Samantha Morton) finds her boyfriend after committing suicide. He was working on a novel, which is
unfinished, so with some thought she decides to pass the work off as her
own. Now, right away some might say that
this is ridiculous, but with some more thought about the life of this woman,
maybe not so. Morvern was a supermarket
clerk with very few aspirations in life.
Everything seems stale, and her boyfriend was going virtually nowhere,
as his suicide allows us to assume that he was not able to finish the
work. So what choice does Morvern really
have? She knows that the novel shows
promise and in a way she can still collect on the material if it becomes
publishable rather than just throw the material away. Indeed after leaving Scotland and going to
Ibiza she travels with her friend and sends the work to a London publisher that
gives her a large advance to finish the work.
Just by the basis of the
story alone it is clearly working far outside the realm of typically Hollywood tradition, but this is one film that will only
appeal to those willing to make it to the end.
As with her debut film Ratcatcher
Ramsey has the ability to draw the viewer in, but does not give them much
to hold onto during the ride, but those still hanging on find the end result
quite satisfying.
Palm Pictures is responsible
for the U.S. DVD release of Morvern
Callar bringing the film to life with a 1.85 X 1 transfer, which looks good
considering the fact that Ramsey’s films always have a low luster quality to
them in general. Not one for a glossy
and stylized film, Ramsey chooses to make her films more naturalistic with a
gritty and unappealing color palette that makes for a toned down viewing. The DVD stills holds up the muted colors well
with nice detail even though there is some softness here and there.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 is
nothing overly impressive delivering just the standard dialogue in the front
channels while very few on-set noises can be heard fluttering around the
surrounds. Music is practically
non-existent with exception of a few songs by The Velvet Underground,
Stereolab, and Can. There is no score for the film, so it relies on more popular music to
give dimension to the film.
The only extra on the disc
is an interview session with Director Lynne Ramsey, Samantha Morton, and her
friend in the film played by Kathleen McDermott. These interviews are neither lengthy nor
detailed but provide some insight into the choosing of the roles and the
material in general. It would appear that Ramsey does not particular like to
talk about her films, but would rather have the audience draw conclusions
themselves. Most of her work is open
ended to begin with so explaining anything would only ruin the point.
In closing it should be
noted that this is not a film for those that rarely venture outside traditional
films. However, those willing to peak
their heads around the corner into something slightly different and are able to
hang on they might find themselves in for a real treat. While the DVD does not come with a lump sum
of extras it is doubtful that many would check them out anyway. Good call on the behalf of Palm Pictures to
stay with a very basic DVD that gives just the standards.
- Nate Goss
