User Reviews

With a plot about conceiving and cloning your dead beloved I expected this movie to possibly become all kinds of disturbing.

Luckily, the script is dealt with the hands of a director and a cast who handled the script delicately and on a humane level.

That's not to say that this movie is politically correct in any way or won't be disturbing to some, but events that many directors would play for shock-value are dealt with in a way that it feels natural and it deals with mainly grey areas, a complicated issue never have a easy solution after all.

Despite being very slow I was never bored and it sustain my interest throughout, a lot to do with some excellent acting, especially Eva Green shines.

It's also visually very pleasing for the eyes with some very good cinematography.

At one point in the film there's a lingering shot of a snail, as if an obvious metaphor that Womb gestates ever so slowly in its story, covering decades of its characters' lives, and does so in such a bleak and loving fashion that it provides you breathing space that sets you thinking in each scene, akin to observing the quietest kid in class who turns out to be the most explosive. If you've read the synopsis by now you'd know this film deals with the issues associated with cloning, and finds kindred spirits with films such as Jonathan Glazer's Birth and especially Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go.

Hungarian writer-director Benedek Fliegauf tackles his first English language film with Womb, exploring an intense underlying love story that's treated and shot with Zen minimalist principles against the hauntingly beautiful backdrop of Sylt and other equally amazing landscapes in and around Hamburg. Technical strengths in presenting this film cannot be ignored, such as how patiently quiet the narrative is with little dialogue, allow emotions to overwhelm on screen, with sound intricately designed around emotions of frustration, anger and fear. Simply put, this is one journey spanning lifetimes that you'd have to open your heart out to, checking that nagging thought process about the plausibleness of the story at the door, otherwise you'll find yourself deeply muddled given that this in essence is like a science fiction fantasy.

It's a story about attraction, and how inexplicable it can sometimes be, as if of a chemical nature that draws one's attention to another, and how we are thought to be wired up to be attracted to a certain type, profile, or genetic make up, with the latter of course playing a big role in this film since it involves the cloning of a human being, and the existential exploration of whether a clone can ever be the same as its original, or the degree it is so similar. It raises interesting arguments about that of nature versus nurture, since one's personality and values are catalyzed by the growing up process, and while one can be grown from a petri dish, events that shape one's character are external and cannot be controlled, somehow.

But Womb pushes that boundary a little bit further. What if it involves a surrogate mother, won't her 9 months pregnancy in carrying the foetus play a part, and like the film had shown, care had been taken to grow the subject in a fairly controlled environment. Rebecca (Eva Green) and Tommy (Matt Smith) are on the cusp of a budding romantic relationship, where their years apart since young didn't even seem to damper their strong emotions toward each other, only for a sudden road accident to cruelly snatch one away from the other. In what would be a controversial move, Rebecca enrolls to have herself impregnated and becoming the surrogate mother of Tommy's clone, for the selfish belief that in doing so will allow Tommy to live again, much to the disappointment and shock of Tommy's mother, who chose to depart rather than to see a mirror of her lost child in another human being, now brought up by another woman.

It's the ultimate possessive love story, where one can now boast of having being there right from the start of a lover's life, nurturing him from a toddler to a young adult, to the point where one last left off. In most love stories, the feel good factor post tragedy is to discover one expecting the child of a lover now deceased, but in Womb and to a degree of morbidity, it's now the expecting of the lover himself that raises plenty of alarm bells, especially when sexual attraction comes into play, and clearly with the ulterior motive and desire to want to somehow break through strong taboos when opportune, to continue where the lovers last left off. But with Tommy 2 hooking up with a new found girlfriend in Monica (Hannah Murray), with the last act dealing with this three-way relationship, with the audience firmly in the know of how conflicted Rebecca must have felt.

Here's where Eva Green shines in playing a hopeful teenager to a woman who's confused, jealous and probably with a tinge of being jilted, unable to say the truth which she had hidden so well for years. Fans of Dr Who will probably lap at the chance of watching their hero in Matt Smith play the Tommy role, being a youth cut down before his prime, then in his second role as the relatively immature teenager who has yet to know what's in store for him when unexpected events get set in motion.-

So what got the censors here hot and heavy and to charge this with the highest rating possible, outside of an outright ban, is how there's a pervasive feeling of sexual attraction that never goes away, when Tommy 2 starts to appear in Rebecca's life. Granted that a mother naturally shows unconditional love toward her child, this one has a very explicit hint of intent that provokes. Take up the challenge with this unconventional love story, and see if you'd squirm when you get past the amazing visuals to reach its controversial, and to some, shocking, core,

This film is so weird and abnormal. I don't think I've ever seen a film that's as weird as this one. But, the film is also great! It really makes you think about the moral implications of cloning. For this reason, I also think that the film is awesome.

Matt's acting is superb and completely convincing. You really feel for his character. Eva Green's performance is heartbreaking.

The film made me laugh and cry. I have had long discussions about this film with many of my friends for weeks after seeing it. The film is definitely a talking point. It sparked rife debate between me and my friends which not many films can do so thank you.

To be honest, I feel that there is only one word that can properly sum up my feelings about this film. This film is 100% abnosome.

ITS SOOOOO SLOOWWWWW, and even more the whole plot in the movie is very...how do I put this...strange. There is barely any dialogue and a lot of strange scenes. If your looking to find good scenery in a movie then sure, watch it. But if you are looking for anything else please don't.

Womb is an excellent drama that is unfortunately marketed the wrong way.

If your first impression of the film is that its an Erotic drama on incest, you couldn't be further from the truth.

The premise itself should be a guideline for whether or not you should watch this film.

"After a tragic accident, a woman decides to clone her lover, and raise him from infancy to adult." The less you know about Womb, the better the experience will be. Suffice to say, its an extremely well made, and honest drama about not being able to let go, and the consequences that follow.

The story centers around Tommy and Rebecca. After the accident, Rebecca makes the controversial decision to clone Tommy to raise him as a child.

Why? To get back her lover? To raise the child she never had? The film never spoon feeds us, and we're left with Eva Greens brilliant performance to see Rebecca unravel.

We see her care about the Tommy's clone, and genuinely wants to be a good mother, but there's an underlying foreboding with the possibility of incest. Rebecca struggles to keep her feelings to being a mother, but there's obvious jealously when women come into Tommy's life, and thats the main conflict of the film.

Certainly, this taboo possibility is the main drive of the second half of the film, but its much more than that.

Womb is brilliant because of how well its crafted.

There is an isolation to the film, landscapes and vistas are limited to long stretches of seas and beaches.

Music is sparse too, there's a haunting recurring theme that plays during decades, and emphasizes the long time span of the story.

Dialogue is minimum , and the film never lingers on a certain time period.

Yet we miss nothing. Womb focuses not on the conversations and events, but rather the emotions the characters go through. What we are left with is a deep morality love story that transcends decades.

Regardless of how you feel about the inevitable outcome, the struggles presented on screen is one of the more complex modern love stories. Its not about Lust, but of how blind we can get in our desires to get our loved ones back.

Its not for everyone though, due to the slow paced nature of the film, the more you give yourself to the film, the more you will get.

Its also not exactly the happiest film made. The depressive tone of the film may be too much for some, but it stays true to itself, and benefits greatly from it.

This paired with the taboo subject material, led with questionable marketing, will probably scare off people, which is a shame, because this is far from the pretentious love story people seem to think it is.

See it if you can, its definitely a hauntingly beautiful film that makes you think long after the credits roll.

P.S, this is my first real review, let me know what you guys think! THANKS!

This is an EXTREMELY slow drama, with long scenes without any dialog - and it's a great example of how to do it right.

Great locations, great cinematography, great atmosphere. Everyone in the cast (including the kids) is great in his role, but Eva Green is just excellent.

With very few words and very long static scenes, this movie manages to have such an amazing emotional power. It hit quite a few of my nerves and it was an emotional journey for me.

This is an EXTREMELY slow drama, with long scenes without any dialog - and it's a great example of how to do it right.

Great locations, great cinematography, great atmosphere. Everyone in the cast (including the kids) is great in his role, but Eva Green is just excellent.

With very few words and very long static scenes, this movie manages to have such an amazing emotional power. It hit quite a few of my nerves and it was an emotional journey for me.

Excellent

Films with lingering shots of a beach or a face or a road to me can sometimes come off as pretentious dribble, not the case with Womb, I found this movie to be absolutely stunning. There's no other word for it, some people would easily find this movie to be boring due to the extremely slow pace and lack of dialogue, but in my opinion that all just adds to the atmosphere that the director was trying to create.

There is no way at all to tell what year this film is set but I'm guessing it would be in the not too distant future, let's face it, the advances in science these days it's not too long before human cloning will be a part of our society. A lot of things I've heard about Womb quite often compare it to Birth, which is a pretty good comparison I think, both films have a lot of similarities. I couldn't help but pick up vibes from another film Never Let Me Go, the controversial subject matter is similar, the underlying sci-fi element, the moral question the viewer faces and the stillness of both films are very much the same.

Eva Green is wonderful to watch, she gives such a wonderfully restrained performance that's it's surprising she didn't get noticed more for her role. Ever since I saw the terrific Cracks a few years ago I look forward to seeing what edgy role she decides to take on next, Matt Smith, who I'm not so familiar with also does a good job. The children at the beginning of the film deserve a mention too, it seems as though child actors are just getting better and better as time goes on.

Certainly not a film for everyone, but for people who like a bit of a discussion after a film it's perfect.

LOVED IT!!!

This movie is not for those who are looking for action or for a fast paced movie. The movie takes you to the very beginning and takes it's time to build the relationships that will eventually be the cause for the controversial decision made by the main character. There is one scene that happens so suddenly and it is this event that brings about the controversial issue in this film. The acting is done really well by the few characters that we see, they seem immersed in the situation, filled with as much emotion as you would expect. The second half of the movie will have you debating with others and yourself on what stance you would take. And perhaps as you're watching the movie you have an idea of what the outcome will be, but the movie engages you to keep watching to see how it all plays out in this unique situation that we're presented with.

This movie is thought provoking as well as one that challenges your sensibilities. Eva Green is as always superb in the lead and Matt Smith playing a smaller yet crucial role brilliantly. This movie is certainly not for everyone, some might call it slow, or even snail paced, whereas I thought the pacing just fine in what was a brilliant low budget movie, One thing I don't like is the new movie title, 'Womb' was more apt.

Tense, harrowing, subtle...and just a teeny bit boring. Aesthetically it's beautiful, the acting is great on all sides, although Matt Smith is occasionally just Matt Smith. This is a wonderful idea, and you can really see what they tried to do with it. The problem is that the meat of the movie is just not there. Endless silences do build tension, and reinforce the atmosphere of secrecy, but honestly after an hour you'll find yourself distracted. Much more could have been made of this spectacular idea, especially with this cast, if only the script were just a little bit more dense and satisfying. Ultimately I was interested, but bored.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this movie. And I sat through the whole thing, even though I started to fall asleep and had to turn it off and finish it the next day. Because in spite of the extremely interesting premise, it is too slow, and does not have enough dialogue, and just doesn't achieve the potential it has with such a premise. I love slow long powerful movies, like The Godfather, Interstellar, There Will Be Blood, Predestination, etc. But this movie is just slow, not powerful, even though it really ought to be, they just aren't driving the point home. This is related to the fact that there's not enough dialogue. The characters barely communicate, even when they really should be. When the clone son asks his "mother" important questions she always ignores him and doesn't even respond. You never get to hear them have important conversations about the premise of the movie and who he really is to her. And the movie ends abruptly. So for those reasons, the movie falls so far short of its potential. And because of how slow and generally uneventful it is, without beautiful shots to keep you interested (most of the movie is very dull and gray), I think that this movie won't hold the attention of most people. I give it 4 points for having such an interesting premise that held my attention for the whole movie, but other than that there are no impressive qualities to this film.

When first reading about this film, I thought to myself there is no way I shall be watching this; however, somehow I did end up watching it.

Eva Green was absolutely incredible and gave true meaning to the character. The character's constant state of shock is beautifully performed and she manages to keep the character so real and uses naturalistic dexterity. As for Matt Smith, he brought a true sense of innocence to his character and really allowed himself to connect to the audience as a third-party character.

Director, Benedek Fliegauf, did a superb job at keeping the realism of the piece. Often with these types of story lines, they lose meaning due to over acting and melodrama, however the director allowed everything to have a sense of stillness and time was a fantastic theme used throughout the story. The use of water that appeared a lot was very well crafted to represent the process of life to death; and this had good relation to the story itself.

As I don't want to give away too much, I shall just say the final scene left me in tears. Whilst the concept is rather disturbing, as it contradicts morals and is extremely controversial, it was played out in such a way, it allows the viewer to actually connect with the characters and see the situation from their point of view. It's a great example of how the bad can be perceived as good and how viewers can emotionally connect with characters, who did seem ever so real.

I know this is not a film that everyone will like; the slow pacing and the fact it's about relationships will put many off. But if you're prepared to be patient it does throw up some very interesting questions. I loved the way it was shot and the haunting score (by Max Richter) fitted the piece perfectly. I think the visuals would have had a little more impact on the big screen, but I still found it quite an impressive visual feast. On a dramatic level I did find it was a little too serious and a little levity here and there would have helped. Other than that I found it perfectly acceptable, although I freely admit it may not be to everyone's taste.

SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 6.8/10

You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

the plus side of this movie is its concept. i think, the idea is original and intriguing, touching topics that to some people might find disturbing. The script has potential, but lack realization. the filmmakers didn't do the script justice. i will list the aspects that bothers me. one, acting performance, Eva Green is a good actress, but in this movie there are a lot of close up scenes that hard to pull and sometimes she could do it, sometimes she couldn't. Mark Smith didn't do a very good job portraying his character. the chemistry felt off for me, of course, it's all about preferences, but in a complicated romance movie like this it's crucial. two, the pace, it was so slow, to slow, the are a lot of unnecessary pause, there is a ten seconds shot of a dog, the character's walking in the beach, which was shot from afar (uninteresting, i would be better to have it close up), one person walking away(it take to long), unnecessary paused of one dialog to another(when it should be answered immediately), a lot of emotionless close up scenes (which i think take to long again). three, the sound, there aren't any scores, which was fine if it would feel natural, BUT jumping from one silent scene to loud waves, just no. and without score, it would depends on the actors to deliver emotional or dramatic scenes, and the they failed. so, all in all, it was a very boring movie, it's a good thing i can fast forward it.

this is an emotionally and morally complex film.

the setting is bare, the dialog minimal, and all to leave room for the context which is massive.

the isolation serves to preserve the womb till the moment of all release, and therefore the moment of ultimate loss. there are many quiet metaphors in this film.

and it is these quiet choices that show some brilliant forethought on the part of the film-makers. it is brilliant film-making. if you can get past the squirminess of it all. and no doubt some day soon, if science has its way -as it will- this story will come true. just over a hundred years ago most believed that man would never fly.

This movie is a bit precious. It is extremely slow ands I feel it was a half hour stretched beyond necessity. Evan Green gives a still but interesting performance and even manges to remain the same age even though 20-25 years pass!! It seems like the writer managed the meticulous screenplay but forgot to write a script. The dialogue is very slight and rarely seems to move the story on very much. Matt Smith is better than his Dr Who schtick here but let's face it anything is better than that dross. So sparse dialogue , sparse characters and sparse locations make for a very sparse movie. That does not mean it is uninteresting - you have to watch to see what happens. I am actually about two thirds through and it is turning out much as one would expect - which is a disappointment. Those moviegoers expecting a scifi film are going to be very disappointed, it is more like a Swedish art movie in my opinion. definitely not the sort of film one would watch more than once.