Morvern Callar (2002)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

A guy commits suicide at home. He was an unpublished author, but his first novel is completed. His girlfriend cuts the body into pieces, bury the pieces into the woods and then sends his novel to a publisher, pretending it's her work, even if she's basically illiterate.She gets a fat check for the novel (which was obviously a masterpiece) and lives happily ever after, after a stupid trip to Spain. Or she goes to Spain before getting the money.... I don't remember and really don't care.I would not even discuss how morally repugnant this Morvern character is, with her disposing of her lover's body in such a way. Also stealing a dead person's legacy work is pretty repulsive. However, skipping over the disgusting main character - of which we see far too many in contemporary movies - the storytelling technique was a mix of boring and insufferably pretentious, that made me swear never to watch any other movie made by this director ever again.

Morvern Callar (Samantha Morton) finds her dead boyfriend James Gillespie's body after his suicide. Instead of dealing with the death, she goes drinking and partying. She's a supermarket clerk in a Scottish seaside town. She takes his manuscript and changes the author name to her own. After being paid by a publisher, she cuts up his body dumping it in the bogs, and decides to go vacationing with her friend Lanna.This story should be horrifying. The movie does it like a light indie. It has long quiet scenes. This juxtaposition can be quite compelling for some but for me, it gets a bit infuriating. Samantha Morton is able to maintain the tension despite the movie's slow pace. Something that could help is an opening section with Morvern and James together. It's hard to say the death matters to the audience when the relationship is never shown. This is definitely a different kind of indie.

Scottish screenwriter, cinematographer and director Lynne Ramsay's second feature film which she co-wrote with Italian-born screenwriter Liana Dognini, is an adaptation of a novel by Scottish author Alan Warner from 1995 which was shot on location in United Kingdom, Scotland and Spain. It premiered in the Director's Fortnight section at the 55th Cannes International Film Festival in 2002, was screened in the Visions section at the 27th Toronto International Film Festival in 2002 and is a UK-Canada co-production and was produced by South African-born producer Robyn Slovo, British television producer George Faber and British television producer Charles Pattinson. It tells the story about Morvern Callar, a woman in her twenties who lives with her boyfriend in a Scottish coastal town where she works at a shopping mall with her best friend Lanna. Christmas is nearby, and one day after visiting the local pub with Lanna, Morvern returns to her home where she finds her boyfriend dead on the floor of their living room. Left behind with an unpublished novel, a recorded tape of music and some money, Morvern invites her friend on a holiday trip to Spain.Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay had made three short films and her directorial debut "Ratcatcher" (1999) before she made this innovative and internal study of character, a meditative soul-search which explores the inner life of the mysterious protagonist Morvern Callar. Her subtle camera movements and creative perspectives mirrors a passion and consideration for her motives which is very appealing and with her intimate close ups of Samantha Morton she really gets into the core of the protagonist. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions and the colorful and artistic cinematography by German-born cinematographer Alvin H. Kuchler, this character-driven fictional tale contains a psychedelic score with music from amongst others Apex Twin and The Velvet Underground which increases the cryptic atmosphere.The first image of Samantha Morton's face immediately triggers one's curiosity for the dark haired, mystic and short spoken Morvern Callar who recently lost her lover and who is going through the initial phase of grief. Morvern Callar is an archetype heroine, and after facing a traumatic incident she counterattacks instead of digging herself down. But is she in denial? Is she trying to escape reality? Or is her decision somehow right? The synoptic though ambiguous screenplay aims in on the main character and creates an unforgettable character in this contemplative independent film which is impelled and reinforced by British actress Samantha Morton's transcendent acting performance and the compelling acting performance by Scottish actress Kathleen McDermott. A diverse psychological drama which gained, among other awards, the Award of the Youth for Foreign Film and the C.I.C.A.E. Award at the 55th Cannes Film Festival in 2002, the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress Samantha Morton and Best Technical Achievement Alvin H. Kuchler at the 5th British Independent Film Awards in 2002 and the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actress Kathleen McDermott at the BAFTA Awards, Scotland in 2002.

My wife and I watch a film every night with no distractions, and mostly artsy films that require thought. I have tons of patience for films that are slow to blossom. My wife has double the attention span that I do. All that being said-- this film is just plain empty and BORING! It went nowhere. Never blossomed. It started fairly strong with a promising plot...then she bakes cookies...goes to Spain....she sulks, she stares....the credits roll. Uneven, full of holes, false starts & dead ends. We FF'd through several extended sequences of her just staring off into space. Artificial depth was implied when she played with the mud and cried. Zzzz...... It's like a beautifully shot chick-flick that's pretending to be deep or artsy. You never get to know nor understand Morvern at all. About halfway through you just don't care anymore. We just wanted to see at least one of the plot lines develop. Don't waste your time on this. I'm shocked it scores so high.