Themes: Twentysomething Life, Faltering Friendships, Journey of Self-Discovery
Main Cast: Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Raife Patrick Burchell, Dan Cadan, Carolyn Calder
Release Year: 2002
Country: UK/CA
Run Time: 97 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A woman's life is set onto a new path by tragedy and confusion in this offbeat drama from maverick director Lynne Ramsay. Morvern Callar (Samantha Morton) is a woman in her early twenties who wakes up in her flat in a small Scottish town on Christmas morning to a rather unpleasant surprise -- her live-in boyfriend has committed suicide, and his body lies on the floor in a pool of blood. She discovers that he has left a short message for her on the screen of his personal computer ("I love you. Be brave."), as well as the text of a novel he had recently completed. Changing the name on the title page to her own, Morvern begins sending the manuscript out to publishers without having actually read it. Eventually, Morvern disposes of her boyfriend's body, scrubs away the evidence of his suicide, and attempts to reintegrate herself with the world, though the shocking events seems to have built a wall between her and those around her, and she is unable to explain what has happened to anyone, even her best friend, Lanna (Kathleen McDermott). Eventually, Morvern draws the last of her boyfriend's money from the bank and treats herself and Lanna to a short vacation in Spain, where they become friendly with a group of hedonistic British expatriates and soon find their friendship stretched to the breaking point. Morvern Callar was based on the novel by Alan Warner; it was originally intended to be Lynne Ramsay's first directorial effort, but she was able to complete her film Ratcatcher before securing funding for this project. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
From its nearly silent opening passages to its exhilarating and enigmatic capper, Morvern Callar announces itself as the product of a singular sensibility. A tone poem for the rave generation, Lynne Ramsay's latest film may be easier to admire than to like, but there's no denying it establishes her as a filmmaker of tremendous promise. This follow-up to Ramsay's acclaimed debut, Ratcatcher, is a kaleidoscopic immersion, as unknowable and magnetic as its titular heroine. Played by the superb Samantha Morton, Morvern is a cipher, at once strangely disconnected and thrillingly alive. Following the suicide of her boyfriend, she takes an unorthodox path, appropriating his recently finished novel as her own and using the money he left behind to go on a vacation with her best friend, Lanna (Kathleen McDermott). Morvern's impulsive wanderings, which ultimately alienate even the free-spirited Lanna, come across less as inexplicable whimsy than as the pure expression of a generation's existential restlessness. Steeped in cool solipsism, Ramsay's movie privileges sensation over sense: at its best, it's a captivating mosaic of color, music, and mood. In its opacity, Morvern Callar may seem to some a willful exercise in audience frustration. Those who surrender to Ramsay's rough poetry, however, will find the movie a transporting experience. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide
Raife Patrick Burchell - Boy in Room 1022; Dan Cadan - Dazzer; Carolyn Calder - Sheila Tequila; Jim Wilson - Tom Boddington; Dolly Wells - Susan; Ruby Milton - Couris Jean; Linda McGuire - Vanessa; Duncan McHardy
Credit
Phil Barber - Art Director, Des Hamilton - Casting, Sarah Blenkinsop - Costume Designer, Mark Fenn - First Assistant Director, Mike Elliott - First Assistant Director, Lynne Ramsay - Director, Lucia Zucchetti - Editor, Andras Hamori - Executive Producer, David M. Thompson - Executive Producer, Barbara McKissack - Executive Producer, Lenny Crooks - Executive Producer, Seaton McLean - Executive Producer, Andrew Cannon - Musical Direction/Supervision, Thomas Townend - Camera Operator, Jane Morton - Production Designer, Alwin Küchler - Cinematographer, George Faber - Producer, Charles Pattinson - Producer, Robyn Slovo - Producer, Richard Flynn - Sound/Sound Designer, Paul Davies - Sound/Sound Designer, Lynne Ramsay - Screenwriter, Liana Dognini - Screenwriter, Alan Warner - Book Author
Morvern Callar is a young woman in a small port town in Scotland. She wakens Christmas morning to discover her boyfriend has committed suicide, leaving the manuscript of his unpublished novel behind. She instinctively erases his name, and puts hers on the novel, and ends up selling it as her own.
