Menu
Menu
Menu
A film appreciation and curation project dedicated to championing outstanding cinema
A film appreciation and curation project dedicated to championing outstanding cinema
Based on the Alan Warner novel of the same name, British auteur Lynne Ramsay’s second feature has largely flown under the radar since its release two decades ago. Whereas films such as You Were Never Really Here and We Need To Talk About Kevin were award-winning, critically acclaimed pieces of work, Morvern Callar did not get the same adulation. Granted, it’s the most esoterical and enigmatic viewing experience in Ramsay’s body of work, but in our view, this means it’s also the more richly layered and rewarding.
It all comes together so beautifully through Samantha Morton’s mesmeric performance. The film opens as Morton, as the titular Morvern, lay next to her dead boyfriend and soon discovers his suicide note which includes his recently finished novel that he tasks her with getting published. It’s the start of an unpredictable journey with Morvern, who deals with every forthcoming scenario with an unnerving emotional detachment. Is this her way of dealing with the grief of her recently deceased boyfriend or has her newfound situation given her a spiritual escape from a dull, monotonous existence?
2022 kicked off news of much anticipation when Vinegar Syndrome announced on January 1st that, via Fun City Editions, Morvern Callar would finally be getting a Blu-ray release. Before now the only way to own the film would be via its original DVD release some 20 years ago. This upgrade was long overdue and it now means all of Lynne Ramsay’s films have received the Blu-ray treatment (although we’re still waiting for a hi-def treatment of Ratcatcher here in the UK).
Under these circumstances, the undoubted headline news with this release is that shiny 2k restoration – and from a 35mm interpositive scan no less. A film with such a rich and poetic visual cinematic language is so deserving of this boutique treatment and simply consuming this film in its upgraded quality is worth the purchase alone.
Beyond the restored presentation of the film itself, however, Fun City Editions (FCE) have produced some original material to accompany the feature that really enhances and enriches the enjoyment of Ramsay’s film. The video essay ‘Somewhere Beautiful’ by Chris O’Neill, video essayist and writer, explores Morvern Callar’s emotional detachment in greater detail and there’s also some loose comparison to the source novel. This is shown through text over the images rather than a voiceover and comes in at around 7 and a half minutes.
The audio commentary by film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson is a fantastically researched and in-depth discussion on Ramsay as a filmmaker, with particular comparisons to Ratcatcher and her short Gasman. A great listen. We also get a beautiful booklet which includes two essays. One with a particular focus on the soundtrack of Morvern Callar, which plays a prominent role in the film, written by Margaret Barton-Fumo. The other essay by film programmer K.J. Reith-Miller looks at how Lynne Ramsay asks the viewer to tackle themes of grief in her film.