Episode 744 - Swallow (2019)

Hi everyone!

It’s Friday, so it’s time for another Fantastic Fest feature from Andrew Campbell. Today’s feature had a very limited run in the theaters from podcast favorite IFC Films, picked up from the flurry of content that debuts at Fantastic Fest every year. Andrew will be up with his review of SWALLOW in just a bit, but for a few other reviews from Andrew, check out AFTER MIDNIGHT (Episode #737), JALLIKATTU (Episode #730), and BLISS (Episode #723).

Before the review, we’ll have a promo from our good friends at the Book of Lies Podcast. Every week, Brandi Fleeks and Sunni Hepburn take a look at a fraud case or famous con artist, breaking down the methods, the signals, and how to spot similar scams in your life. You can find them on Twitter @Bookofliespod and on Facebook and Instagram @bookofliespodcast. Be sure to like, retweet, share, review, and subscribe!

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Here we go!

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Hello film fans!

Andrew here. Just two movies left for me to cover before we close out the first quarter of 2020, so I thought I would end on a couple of high notes. This week and next I have two films about women on the brink living vastly different lives, both delivered by writer/directors making their feature film debut. These movies are unique to anything you’ve seen before - gorgeously shot by creators with clear artistic visions. You’re going to want to be the one that tells their friends about these films.

Today’s movie is the psychological thriller SWALLOW (2019), the debut film from writer/director Carlo Mirabella-Davis. SWALLOW stars Haley Bennett as Hunter, a woman with grew up underprivileged who now finds herself married at a young age to Richie (Austin Stowell). Richie grew up in wealth with well-connected parents who remain hyper-involved in the lives of Richie and Hunter. The parents gifted their son a stately home as a wedding present and along with it comes a mountain of social expectations. In turn, Richie foists upon Hunter his ideas of how a subservient housewife should behave - curating a meticulous home, providing dinner on the table, and serving his every need, while living no life of her own. Feeling imprisoned by her posh lifestyle, Hunter develops a very serious and very real psychological disorder known as pica - wherein sufferers consume non-nutritive indigestible objects.

First off, Haley Bennett is terrific as Hunter. There are a half-dozen or so characters that she interacts with throughout the film, but much of the gravitas of the story is conveyed during the quiet moments when Hunter struggles to find meaning in her life and begins to give in to her disorder. It starts subtly with a marble which she quickly swallows and later retrieves. It’s such a bizarre affliction, but director Mirabella-Davis handles it with grace, sometimes eliciting nervous laughter from the audience and at other times forcing viewers to turn away.

If you’re concerned that the writer/director is exploiting a peculiar and somewhat arresting affliction as the basis of story of a tortured woman, rest assured that’s not the case. The director was present at the screening and very candid with the audience afterward. His grandmother has psychological issues, including some form of pica, which gave him some family history with the illness. He has also experienced personal issues with self-identity and societal expectations as depicted in the film. During his 20’s, Mirabella-Davis, who now self-identifies as male, spent a four-year period living as woman at a time well before the modern-day social concept and growing acceptance of gender fluidity.

Stylistically, this film is quite striking. If the unconventional and personal story is not convincing enough to give it a watch, take a look at the trailer. The framing and set design feels as if the world of the television series “Mad Men” had never evolved more than half a century later. Every shot is framed like a painting. In the more still moments when Hunter is contemplating devouring household objects, the sound design is spectacular. The silence of the hermetically-sealed home in which Hunter spends so much of her life alone juxtaposed with the sound of metal on teeth is subtle domestic horror. As a first-time filmmaker (feature-length anyway), Mirabella-Davis exerts exacting control over every aspect of the film, just as Hunter’s husband and in-laws seek to maintain her over her.

What makes SWALLOW fantastic?Everything just coalesces beautifully in this film. It’s a story that feels like it’s treading all new ground while allowing viewers to identify with the core message, even if Hunter’s disorder is a little tough to swallow (please pardon the horrendous pun). I would put a slight trigger-warning on this one as this is an emotional story of a woman confronting trauma and living with a troubled psyche, but it’s told with such compassion that I wouldn’t recommend anyone avoid it.

SWALLOW is a deeply affecting tale of empowerment, masterfully captured by a fresh new storyteller. Fans of films with women dealing with psychological problems and confronting identity issues such as THE HOURS or SECRETARY will enjoy this film.

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% 

Metacritic: 62

One Movie Punch: 8.6/10

SWALLOW (2019) is rated R and is currently playing in limited theatrical release and available on VOD.

Come back next Friday for SAINT MAUD. One last film before our regular podcast hiatus, so let’s go out with a bang. There is a glut of religious based horror films out there, usually centered around exorcisms. SAINT MAUD is the antidote for those boring, predictable, jump-scare laden movies. It tells the story of a young home health care nurse with strongly-held religious convictions, to put it mildly. In a world of doubters and sinners, Maud finds it more and more difficult to relate to those who don’t see the path that’s so clear to her. Get ready for the year’s best horror film.

See you then!