381. Eternal Beauty; movie review

 

     

ETERNAL BEAUTY

Cert 15

94 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language, mental illness theme, suicide references

Just when I needed cheering up through the second Covid lockdown comes a rush of films which had made my mood even darker.

Eternal Beauty might have been more attractive if we had been in a cinema and had been able to go to the pub and discuss its merits over two or three jars.

However, we have barely been out of the house and I watched it alone.

On the plus side, I will remember it for the outstanding performance of Sally Hawkins as a young woman beset by crippling mental health problems.

Hawkins plays Jane who suffers a dramatic breakdown after she is dumped at the altar.

She spirals into a chaotic world where it is difficult to separate reality and imaginary and where bad decisions usually accompany her not taking acute medication.

Her mental issues aren't helped by her aggressive and promiscuous sister (Billie Piper) and controlling/abusive mother (Penelope Wilton).

She doesn't realise that her only ally is her other sister (Alice Lowe) preferring to find solace with an inappropriate boyfriend (David Thewlis) who is also beset by heavy mental health problems.

There are moments of tender lucidity and childlike reverie which brings the audience very much on to Jane's side, prompting them to fear for her as her delusions become grander.

Quite rightly, Craig Roberts' film offers no solutions to mental health issues but it does give loud hints at their deep-rooted causes.

It is a tough watch and our heart ends up bleeding for the poor young woman while Hawkins gives an award-worthy portrayal.

My reservation lies in how it jumps around - presumably trying to reflect her erratic mindset.

Reasons to watch: Sally Hawkins

Reasons to avoid: It is a tough watch

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? One in four people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England. One in six people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week in England.

The final word. Craig Roberts: " I just couldn’t see anybody else in that role once Sally said she’d do it. She was attached to it for two years before we actually shot the picture, so there was a lot of back-and-forth of ideas, which was such a wonderful experience. And, I mean, I think I got the greatest actor in the world for that part, so I was really lucky." Buzz

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