77. The Souvenir Part II; movie review

 

THE SOUVENIR PART II

Cert 15

107 mins

BBFC advice: Contains  strong language, sex, suicide references

"This is a story of 'arty' middle-class people making life difficult for themselves."

I wrote those words about Joanna Hogg's Exhibition and linked them to The Souvenir Part One. They fit just as well to this critically acclaimed episode of navel-gazing.

Those in Hogg's media set may love The Souvenir Part II because they might see it as a reflection of themselves.

Maybe they don't care about a world in which the question of whether people can heat their homes is slightly more important than an obtuse camera angle for a student movie.

The Souvenir Part Two follows on directly from Part One in which we had seen Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) face tragedy after a tumultuous relationship with a drug addict lover.

She is now attempting to move on by immersing herself in a graduation film which she is directing.

Hogg's picture gives a decent representation of what it must be like to be a film student who comes from wealthy stock.

She lives in a flat which is worth millions while asking her mum (Tilda Swinton) for handouts.

She is also portrayed as a young woman who struggles to express her own mind so production on her movie is chaotic and her relationship with her parents is defensive.

The elephant in the room is her grief which is only addressed at arm's length.

I would have more empathy for Julie's character if I had believed that she was wandering around in a daze because of the tragedy but she was already doing so in Part I before it happened.

Otherwise, I had no common ground with her or any other character.

Sometimes, we can enjoy watching how the other half live. 

The Souvenir Part II doesn't even engender voyeurism. Instead, it simply brews resentment at how spoilt they all are.

Reasons to watch: If you are part of the middle/upper class arts community

Reasons to avoid: Most of us would view them as unlikeable characters

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 3.5/10

Did you know? Joanna Hogg Hogg first jotted down ideas for The Souvenir in 1988. It was three years after Hogg, a film student at the time, ended a romantic relationship with an older man.

The final word. Joanna Hogg: "The process of looking back brought up a lot of things—not necessarily nice things. So one has a kind of grieving in the process as well. So someone could say that’s something cathartic, but sitting here now talking to you, I don’t feel a sense of relief having created this work." The Playlist

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