To get started Swallow has one of the strangest and most unique plots I have seen in a movie. The movie follows a young woman called Hunter (Haley Bennett) and her husband Richie (Austin Stowell) as they seem to live an ‘almost’ perfect life and that’s even more prominent when Hunter falls pregnant. However things turn a little odd when Hunter suddenly develops the craving to swallow dangerous objects and claims not to know why she does so. Tensions rise as Richie and his side of family try to figure out what the hell is going on and to see if Hunter is actually hiding something.
Now to plus sides to this film are it is a beautiful looking film. Director Carla Miravella-Davis has done a great job with the look of this film I’m not sure if it’s a low budget movie but (given its limited cinema releases) But It looks great. Another plus is the acting; this film has great performances throughout the movie from everyone involved. But the main highlight of the film is the uniqueness and absurdity of the plot all the way through it kept me wondering why Hunter was swallowing these things and the film explores this without giving too much away straight away. My girlfriend and I were having little guessing games on what she was going to eat next and were looking around the screen to see potential non-edibles. It made the film a little more of a solid and fun watch.
For some people the subject matter might be a little tough. The film adresses issues such as Rape, Abortion, Female empowerment, Resentment, Domestic trauma and Mental illness and in a movie with such an absurd plot i didnt think it would have so many layers to it. There is so much going on in Hunter’s life and everything links to this issue she has and because of Haley Bennets performance the film is works and delivers a powerful and upsetting story that in a nutshell is how broken human beings can get given the worst circumstances and not getting the help you need.
Swallow is a great watch for people who love films for narrative and emotional weight for people who don’t dissect and re-think what they have just watched. I would give this a miss. However I really enjoyed it saying that, I probably wouldn’t watch it again as the best part of the film is not knowing why she has this problem. However, I would recommend it to someone if they asked me how it was, as long as they could swallow the tough subject matter.
Final Score.
Title:Good
Swallow is hard film to digest given its tough matter, but strong performances and a unique plot give a healthy dose of entertainment. Even if it isn’t Michelin star quality it doesn’t bite of more than it can chew and pulls off a decent serving.
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