Morvern Callar

2002 Drama

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. more..

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Starring: Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Raife Patrick Burchell, Dan Cadan

Reviews

  • (Morton's) character here is emotionally mute -- though Morvern speaks, she can't or won't reveal what's in her heart -- and her performance is brilliant from start to finish.

    Joe Morgenstern - The Wall Street Journal

    26 April 2013

  • I think the answer is right there in the film, but less visible to American viewers because we are less class-conscious than the filmmakers.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    26 April 2013

  • Morton deserves an Oscar nomination, but she is unlikely to get one. The movie is too dark and out of the mainstream to impress the conservative fogies who vote for the prizes.

    V.A. Musetto - New York Post

    26 April 2013

  • Despite grim doings involving sexual hysteria and chopped-up body parts (don't ask), Ramsay and Morton fill this character study with poetic force and buoyant feeling.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    26 April 2013

  • Strange, moody film.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    26 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Actress in a Feature Film

    BAFTA Awards, Scotland (2002)

  • Lynne Ramsay

    Bratislava International Film Festival (2002)

     
  • Best Actress

    British Independent Film Awards (2002)

  • Foreign Film

    Cannes Film Festival (2002)

  • Best Feature

    Chicago International Film Festival (2002)