Film Review: The Souvenir
© Agatha A. Nitecka /A24
For me, this film’s initial appeal was to see what the inestimable Tilda Swinton had produced in the form of her daughter Honor Swinton Byrne. My expectations were rewarded by the revelation of seemingly innate talent exhibited in her performance as Julie, a young idealistic and earnest film student, determined to create work with a social conscience. The fact that she comes from a privileged wealthy background is something that she has grappled with and determined to prove that it will not influence her creativity. It is a believable and awkward condition of many burgeoning artists and Honor carries it off beautifully with her tentative mannerisms which convey her vulnerability and insecurity about the strength of her own convictions. She is fairly self-absorbed and constantly questioning her process and growth as a person and as an artist.
© Nicola Dove /A24
All of this is upended when she gets involved with Anthony (Tom Burke), an older, suave, sophisticated, dandy-ish fellow who claims to work for the Foreign Office. Anthony is loaded with opinions on everything which he declaims with a somewhat supercilious air. He seems inexplicably drawn to the unkempt bohemian, Julie and, in short order, insinuates himself into her life and her bed. This, she does not question until it is very late in the game. There are too many discrepancies and unanswered questions to be ignored. What began as Anthony’s courtship evolves into Julie lending him money and supporting him. The relationship is not without great affection and apparently great sex. However, it becomes clear that it would not last without Julie’s overriding ability to overlook and forgive any and all of Anthony’s transgressions. Her gradual loss of herself begins to affect her work and her health before she is forced to open her eyes and smell the coffee as everything spirals out of control.
© Agatha A. Nitecka /A24
She is aided throughout by the profound emotional support of her strong, and empathetic mother, played to perfection by her real mother, Tilda Swinton. It is a serendipitous casting coup. The director, Joanna Hogg, who also wrote the screenplay, based the story on events in her own past. She had already cast her friend of many years, Swinton as the mother, when it occurred to her that Honor, whose prior film experience was minimal, would be perfect as Julie. Honor does not bear much physical resemblance to her mother. Her somewhat irregular features are soft and rounded as opposed to chiseled. She does, however, possess the same calm at the center, which gives her performance heft without reverting to theatricality. She feels thoroughly natural and very convincing and she holds her own at the center of this intriguing story. Apparently, we will get to see her evolve. Joanna Hogg is already preparing a sequel. I, for one, will definitely want to see what comes next.
