The Souvenir Part 2 was as equally mystifying yet engrossing as the first film by Joanna Hog.
Precautions:
Don’t even try it though if you haven’t seen the first one as you won’t know what the heck is happening.
If you have any a.d.d. tendencies, either take a Valium or wait until you happen to be in traction. This movie is so slow that I thought I hit pause to re-fill my popcorn bowl and stood making sure I hit it hard enough for a good 3 seconds and nothing was happening on the screen so started to walk away and realized, it was going the entire time.
BUT that’s not to say it’s not a worthwhile film. Here’s why:
1. It’s about taking personal trauma and turning it into art. Hence, why I wrote the novel Jokers to the Right about my second marriage. Hence why I’m on the ninth episode of a dramedy of my current life, working title Welcome to the Circus.
In Souvenir Part II, Hogg goes full circle with the grief and mystery of man who caught her fancy who she realizes she never really knew. Case in point that the miracle to life (in my opinion is) that ONE singular person can and SHOULD make a difference in your life, and sometimes the more enigmatic they are, the more we are drawn to them. (subliminal) Where are you, Rich Allan?
2. The film has some real moments: sex scenes and therapist scenes that not only feel genuine, but also say raw truths rarely covered in film. I also think it captures a lot of twentysomethings’ life experience.
3. The film is artistic with a capital A. The scene where she acts out her relationship in short film style is brilliant. The message repeated a few times was, go for your authentic self and art, rather than be ‘liked’.
4. There’s an actor who steals two scenes who I’m hoping I’ll see in future films; Richard Ayoade, who was a BAFTA winner for The It Crowd. Here, he was a male film making diva to the max, but oh so memorable and effective.
