{"id":73586,"date":"2022-01-20T09:06:24","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T09:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=73586"},"modified":"2022-01-20T16:48:08","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T16:48:08","slug":"the-souvenir-part-ii-immerses-you-in-a-compelling-and-occasionally-confusing-character-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2022\/01\/the-souvenir-part-ii-immerses-you-in-a-compelling-and-occasionally-confusing-character-study\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Souvenir Part II\u2019 Immerses You In A Compelling, And Occasionally Confusing, Character Study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Souvenir Part II<\/em> won\u2019t wow you with special effects \u2013 it\u2019ll draw you in with its frighteningly truthful portrayal of grief, guilt, and the recovery process for those escaping abusive relationships. It\u2019s one for the people who\u2019ll walk into the cinema wanting to see a great art film, who want to disappear into the story of a person who could very much be real. And it is \u2013 writer-director Joanna Hogg claims it, along with the first part, to be semi-autobiographical, based on true experiences of hers during film school. So, if you\u2019re an art lover; a fan of exceedingly well-made psycho-drama; or even just a film student wanting the catharsis of seeing a story with a bunch of students struggle through making their graduation film \u2013 I highly recommend you see The Souvenir Part II<\/em>, coming out in UK cinemas, February 4th.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Souvenir Part II <\/em>starts not long after part one \u2013 Julie\u2019s ex-boyfriend, Anthony, has recently died of an overdose after a long fight with heroin addiction. She\u2019s left with a few tough facts to swallow, and the baggage of Anthony\u2019s psychological abuse weighing her down. Did she ever really know Anthony? She\u2019s reaching for every bit of information that she can get her hands on, asking about him, what he was doing the day he died, what his friends and family think \u2013 but never is she given a satisfying answer, or anything to fill the sudden void in her life. Life doesn\u2019t hand closure out to everyone who goes looking, nor does Hogg\u2019s writing allow Julie to move on so quickly. Honor Swinton Byrne works wonders here, with Julie never really emoting all the way, withdrawing from lively and true-to-life conversations surrounding her, and very much showing us the isolation and emotional deadening of both the trauma she\u2019s suffered, and near-paradoxically, the absence of the cause of that trauma. Because, while she\u2019s picking up the pieces of her life, after a not-insignificant period of time where all she was, was based on him, she still clearly misses him, feels some level of responsibility for his death, and as real victims, likely backslides every once in a while by remembering her feelings during the peak of their relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s amazing acting everywhere you look \u2013 A mention has to be made of Richard Ayoade, always a riot, and delivering laughs as effortlessly as breathing, apparently. Tilda Swinton and James Spencer Ashworth play the sort of parents you\u2019d expect to be killed off in a superhero origin story\u2019s first act, what with how great they are. They\u2019re charming, comforting, never angry, and almost supernaturally forgiving. It\u2019s clear to me that, just beyond what we see on the big screen, these are characters that live full and fulfilling lives, thanks to Swinton and Ashworth. But even better, we see in Swinton\u2019s performance, that there\u2019s a barrier between Julie and her mother Rosalind, one that prevents her parents from truly understanding her and her struggles \u2013 and it\u2019s that which finally reveals their human fallibility, as with any fully-realised character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re treated to that revelation in a scene where Julie is unaware her mother is behind the bathroom door, all while she\u2019s throwing up from the stress of it all. Rosalind can only listen, not knowing what to do to comfort her daughter, nor is she able to fully understand her. Another scene is when Julie asks her how she felt when she learnt Anthony had died, and she struggles to lie, and hide that she felt what I interpreted to be a sense of grim relief. She\u2019s again unable to find the words, leaving Julie once more unsatisfied. That this is a real life mother-daughter pair is a testament to their acting prowess \u2013 I can\u2019t even begin to imagine the process that they and Hogg must have gone through in order to portray a relationship that is grounded in three separate realities: the events of Joanna Hogg\u2019s life that these films are based upon; the real mother-daughter relationship of Swinton and Byrne; and the in-universe relationship between Julie and Rosalind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film\u2019s plot revolves around Julie\u2019s attempts to make her graduation film for school. In part one, she\u2019d been intending to make it about the relationship between a mother and son in the failing city of Sunderland \u2013 but now, her grief and trauma has blended her life with her work, and now she\u2019s making a film inspired by her relationship with Anthony. It\u2019s here where we see The Souvenir<\/em> step into meta territory. It\u2019s based on elements of Joanna Hogg\u2019s real life, and now the main character\u2019s making a film based on elements of her own life. I think it works, in the film\u2019s universe \u2013 Julie\u2019s a film-maker, and here she is trying to process her trauma by using it as inspiration for a film. The production disasters that appear to riddle the project come about through Julie\u2019s lack of understanding of how to make it, bought about by her own lack of understanding of what\u2019s happened to her, or how she really feels about her relationship with Anthony, or if she\u2019ll ever really feel much of anything again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But meta in film, by nature, invites confusing discussion about the film\u2019s intent by going meta. Back here in reality, what\u2019s The Souvenir<\/em> trying to say, if anything at all? I\u2019m not quite sure, and I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019m meant to be sure. I suppose those who\u2019ve lived different experiences to me, and especially those who\u2019ve been alive for longer, would be able to come up with their own interpretations. When the characters are shown Julie\u2019s graduation film, we the audience are instead treated to a bizarre dream-like sequence, where I think Julie ultimately lets go, and moves on from Anthony and his post-mortem control over her life \u2013 represented by her dropping a mask of his face \u2013 or at least, I think. It\u2019s made even more confusing by the ending, peeling back the forth wall by showing us the real film crew shooting the final scene of The Souvenir Part II<\/em>, with Joanna Hogg (I presume) even shouting “cut”. I\u2019m really starting to think I should\u2019ve gotten a degree in film before seeing this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Either way, I really did enjoy The Souvenir Part II<\/em>. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m capable of fully understanding it, but what I did, I loved \u2013 Honor Swinton Byrne\u2019s acting is an absolute highlight, and it leaves me hoping I\u2019ll be seeing her more in the future. The plot accentuates her performance, driving through at a meandering pace as we see her response to Anthony\u2019s death evolve. The conversations in the film remind me of actual life, something that you don\u2019t see very often, and I certainly appreciate. And let\u2019s not forget just how well-made it is, with Joanna Hogg reaching into what must be a bottomless bag of tricks, constantly reinforcing Julie\u2019s isolation and other character beats with shot framing that sets her apart from the rest of the world that she isn\u2019t sure what to make of any more. You\u2019ll likely enjoy it just as much as I did, even if your ability to name the techniques used to make such an excellent film is just as lacking as mine. Of course, if your tolerance for confusion while watching a film is low, and you like your stories straight forward and solely contained within four walls, your mileage may vary \u2013 but no matter how you look at it, The Souvenir Part II<\/em> is an undeniably great and immersive character study. Don\u2019t forget to watch Part I first.<\/p>\n\n\n

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