Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s first English-language feature is intriguing, but its nightmarish dentures slant needs a mouthful of narrative
A fog of menace descends on this hauntingly photographed, oppressive and driftingly directionless movie from Lucile Hadzihalilovic. It has the intensively curated atmosphere of body-horror noir – if not the conventional plot structure – and some way into the running time you might find yourself awakened from its reverie of formless anxiety by a sudden, horrifying stab of violence. It’s a flourish of brutality whose meaning and motivation are never entirely revealed (there is no question of calling the cops in this nightmare-world) and maybe it doesn’t entirely earn the resulting jolt of attention as the story loops mysteriously around and in on itself.
This is Hadzihalilovic’s first feature in English, adapted from the experimental novella of the same name by Brian Catling, author, performance artist and longtime Iain Sinclair collaborator.
A fog of menace descends on this hauntingly photographed, oppressive and driftingly directionless movie from Lucile Hadzihalilovic. It has the intensively curated atmosphere of body-horror noir – if not the conventional plot structure – and some way into the running time you might find yourself awakened from its reverie of formless anxiety by a sudden, horrifying stab of violence. It’s a flourish of brutality whose meaning and motivation are never entirely revealed (there is no question of calling the cops in this nightmare-world) and maybe it doesn’t entirely earn the resulting jolt of attention as the story loops mysteriously around and in on itself.
This is Hadzihalilovic’s first feature in English, adapted from the experimental novella of the same name by Brian Catling, author, performance artist and longtime Iain Sinclair collaborator.
- 10/15/2021
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
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