Gwen (2018)
A bleak and dreary glimpse into life on a remote farm in Wales some time during the Industrial Revolution (late 1700's - early 1800's), Gwen managed to hide a sparce amount of content amidst thick melodic atmosphere and the strong performances of it's leading ladies, Eleanor Worthington Cox and Maxine Peake. Cox played Gwen, the central figure which the camera focused on primarily, and Peake played the mother who owned the second largest amount of screentime. What was going on in the story was often ambiguously hinted at rather than explained. I was glad the movie did not use exposition to explain what was going on. I always prefer it that way, and see exposition as almost always a crutch used by writers who don't know how to visually or indirectly convey the story and plot. Of course there are exceptions, but generally I see exposition as a thing to be avoided. So that was one of the things I really liked about this movie. On the downside, and I have nothing against quiet movies or quiet people, there was a lack of conversation in this movie. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I felt that a little more needed to be conveyed somehow to fully immerse the audience and make the story and characters gripping. The atmosphere created tension, but it seemed little was done with it. I would have preferred if there had been more meaningful dialogue. There wasn't a single real conversation between any two characters in the movie, and almost nothing besides Gwen's perspective was shown. This left me wondering what exactly was going on, and by the end I still had unanswered questions about what was happening. That wouldn't necessarily have been a bad thing if the characters were in the same predicament, but they seemed to understand what was going on. It did feel like to some extent the writing lacked the ability to convey the same level of understanding that the central character had. If that was a desired effect, then I have the feeling that something else was missing. At the very least there was a lack of substance.
Cox's performance was one factor that carried the movie. I didn't notice much in the way of cinematography, but the framing never felt off, and the angles didn't give me the impression of being too conventional. The only shot I really noticed was one of the first shots in the movie, a side silhouette of Cox's pretty face with her hair trailing in the wind. It was an image of perfect youthful feminine beauty. The meekness of their poverty, and humble religious modesty, only added to that beauty. It reminded me of something I've often longed for, but have only attained for brief moments in my own life. I think it's surrendering to life, and finding simple joy in responsibility, hard work, and gracefully enduring hardships and sorrows. There was a scene where Gwen was trying to sell vegetables to get enough money to pay for medicine. Despite the desparation of her situation, and nobody being willing to buy from her, she never waivered in her composure. This scene was also an example of the lack of substance though, because I could only speculate at the reason why no one would buy from her, though she seemed to have a deeper understanding than I. Perhaps it could be argued that I missed the clues, but I don't think the needed clues were really there.