FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Kaydan Christian
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.
Edwin
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
paulg-67221
The plot of this film revolves incidents of pupils fainting at an all girls school in the 1960s. Sounds interesting but this film is executed poorly.The most obvious error in the film is the cinematography. The images look good but I imagine this is due to the resolution the film was shot in and colour grading. If I were watching a YouTube video I would be very impressed. The reason I am not is because the lighting is poor (at least for cinema). While everything is crystal clear, there is no depth to the lighting, the light looks the same throughout the shot. A good cinematographer would create dark and light areas within the same frame. After seeing this film I watched the director's short film The Madness of the Dance which is much more visually interesting so I looked up the cinematographer and discovered it was Christopher Doyle (that explains why it looked good). That film used different colours of light (red and blue) within the same frame and had areas of shadow which gave the shots depth.The film is also boring. Some may say this is because I am male and didn't go to a boys/girls only school but I feel that is a cheap excuse, I have enjoyed many films where I have never had the same experiences as the main character. Very little of anything of interest happens throughout the movie. It is later revealed the cause of the faintings is mass hysteria. I would have preferred a more supernatural explanation, still would have been ridiculous but at least it would be more interesting.Sorry Game of Thrones fans but Maisie Williams is bad at acting. Let's be honest she was only cast because of the marketing appeal being in GoT brought.A thing in the movie that was annoying was that the main character had sexual feeling for her own brother and the brother did not object. Seriously he does nothing to stop her advance, he even goes along with it. They even have sex only to be stopped by their mother. The relationship between the main character and the mother was meh. The revelation that the main character was conceived through rape which is why the mother is too scared to leave the house and is dismissive of the main character was alright but it is done so poorly. It made sense but the scene had no punch. Had it shown both the characters having mixed feelings about each other throughout the film, it would be more impactful. All the daughter does is whine and the mother and insult her and the mother, like I said, mainly dismisses her. There is no real development between the two.Speaking of lack of character development a male teacher kisses a female teacher in the movie, she rejects him. But their relationship is not shown before or after this scene. It doesn't even have any effect on the narrative or main character so there was no point in the scene even being in the movie. I gave this film a 3/10 overall because it's still a competent movie (for the most part), editing is fine, costume is fine and music choice is fine.
paul2001sw-1
When a charismatic classmate dies, her school-friends start to suffer from a mysterious mass fainting fit. Is it supernatural, grief or just a cry for attention? The headmistress (well-played by Greta Saatchi) just wishes it would all go away. It's a nice concept, but the film seems too obviously sympathetic to the girls, without really letting us inside their heads. Oddly, they don't seem to be so freaked out by their condition. Also, the soundtrack is absurdly intrusive, and deflates rather than enhances the natural atmosphere. And there's just a little too much in the way of extraneous plot - budding sexuality, a troubled mother - daughter relationship - to truly build the sense of claustrophobia which would be needed to make the film a success. Overall, it's just a little bit blander than one might have hoped.
Tweekums
Set in a small all-girl school in 1969, this film is centred on pupil Lydia Lamont who is virtually inseparable from her best friend Abbie Mortimer. Lydia is not too impressed when Abbie announces that she has started having sex. It soon emerges that Abbie is pregnant and the girls discuss what she should do but then Abbie collapses and dies. Not long after that Lydia faints at school; she isn't the last girl to faint; soon most of the pupils are collapsing as well as a young member of staff. The school authorities have no idea what to do; are the girls all faking it? Is it a case of mass hysteria? Or is there a medical cause? While this is going on Lydia starts to explore her own sexuality and ultimately learns why her mother hasn't left the house for sixteen years.After hearing some very positive reviews I was a little surprised to see the film's low score and poor reviews here… having seen the film I was less surprised. Personally I thought it was really good but can understand why others wouldn't. If you want an explanation for what is going on you will be disappointed. Writer/director Carol Morley does a great job creating a disturbing atmosphere; nothing really scary happens but there is a general sense of unease and a feeling that something could happen. Sixteen year old Maisie Williams does a brilliant job as the troubled Lydia; it helps that she is the same age as her character. The rest of the cast are impressive too; notably Maxine Peake as Lydia's cold, almost indifferent mother. Overall I thought this was something special, one of those films one keeps thinking about after it has finished, so would certainly recommend it to anybody looking for something rather different; it certainly won't be for everybody though.
morrison-dylan-fan
Whilst taking a look on Youtube at trailers for upcoming movies I stumbled on a review by British critic Mark "big hands" Kermode on a stylish-looking Supernatural Drama.Walking home a few weeks later,I decided to take a look in a local second hand DVD store,and I was delighted to spot the official DVD being sold for only £2! Which led to me getting ready to fall into the falling.The plot-England 1969:Desperate to get away from her single, agoraphobic mum, Lydia starts to develop a close friendship with Abbie,who gets up to mischievous activities at the all-girls school with Lydia.Whilst Lydia is nervous around boys,Abbie dives right in,and ends up getting pregnant. As Abbie and Lydia try to keep the pregnancy hidden at the school,they both start to suffer from a fainting spell.Hit by a strong case of the fainting spell,the still-pregnant Abbie dies on the school floor in a coma-like state. Grieving over Abbie's death,Lydia starts to explore the power from her mysterious fainting,as the fainting spell spreads across the entire school.View on the film:Backed by a shimmering acoustic indie score from Tracey Thorn,writer/director Carol Morley & cinematographer Agnès Godard give the film (produced by Luc "son of Nic" Roeg) a lush supernatural green which is rubbed up against the rising damp of the late '60s.Splicing subliminal images into the title, Morley touches on the supernatural with a real delicacy,as light greens and deep river blues surrounding the girls gives the fainting spell a magical, rustic quality,which also subtly connects to the loss of childhood for Lydia.As a fainting epidemic covers the school,Morley keeps Lydia's home life firmly grounded,with each room being covered in dour wallpaper and thick clouds of cigarette smoke,which Lydia tries to escape from by curling up in claustrophobic corners of the rooms.Staying away from overtly stepping into Horror territory,Morley brilliantly uses the supernatural element in the screenplay to give the movie a deeply unsettling atmosphere,thanks to the mass fainting heightening the grief that Lydia is gripped by,which slowly covers the school in a psychologically horrific mass hysteria.For the central relationship between Lydia & Abbie,Morley entwines the girls in a fragile,obsessive bond,as Abbie's exploration of her sexuality presses down on Lydia's fear of loneliness.Cast adrift by the loss of Abbie, (played by a superb Florence Pugh) Morley makes the tough rules of Lydia's (played by a powerfully raw Maisie Williams) school open up the raw nerves of Lydia's grief,thanks to the closed emotions sending Lydia's fear and terror across the school like a magik myth,whose spell is cast in a hauntingly ambiguous final note by Morley,as the school falls into the falling.
