A Blue Finch Picture, Written and Directed by Karen Gillan.
This film is advertised as a ‘comedy-drama’ and while it does have the occasional moment of humour, this is a very dark drama focusing on mental health, assault, and death.
It runs at a tight 90 minutes and get still is able to tell it’s story in a complete and impressive fashion. The film splits the narrative throughout between our protagonist (Karen Gillan) before her best friend commits suicide, slowly building up to why that happened, and then after the suicide and explores how Gillan’s character is coping.
She is in a downward spiral with seemingly no one to help her, and is using random sex, food, and drink as coping mechanisms, which lead her to many dark situations, and I won’t spoil her arc, but it is handled very delicately and realistically.
Gillan gives a true powerhouse performance as a young woman without purpose, struggling to find her place in the world and I wish the film had reached a bigger audience as she is a revelation.
One thing this proves yet again is Gillan’s versatile talent in front of the camera, and it also shows she is likely to have a fascinating future behind the camera as well. She is a real force to be reckoned with.
Rating = 3.5/5
Howe's World of Film and TV 