I’d seen the trailer for this a few times, and it always stuck in my mind as something that seemed to be a really sweet film about a touching subject. Without giving too much away, the trailer is such a good example of something that’s able to convey the themes of the film without actually going as far to show you anything. This is a really rich film, and it blew me away in parts. I think at least some of that is a credit to how well edited the trailer is to set up certain expectations going in which were then swerved entirely.
The narrative has a lot of heavy heavy elements, but even with them it’s a film that manages to keep quite a light tone. That isn’t to the detriment of anything and I wouldn’t call it a light touch either, it’s just very emotionally open and I suppose that makes the heavy subject matter more accessible. Ali and Ava themselves are both wonderful characters who feel very real. Some of that is due to their actors, but a huge credit has to be given to Clio Barnard for writing them.
There are some parts that made me question why they were happening, and I never really found out for some of them. The strength of the film is in how you’re almost invited into the lives of the characters though, and how you’re encouraged to forgive them of their flaws. In doing that I don’t think it’s unreasonable to forgive the film if it’s flaws too.
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