Review of Morvern Callar (2002) by Alyssa N — 16 Jun 2010

When I read this book, I couldn't stand the protagonist and the plot lost my interest numerous times, but her voice was so unique and the writing so beautiful that it kept me reading. Well, naturally, the movie has lost the advantage of the prose and Morvern's voice, but it did tighten up the story to make the pacing better, so the end result is still very watchable, if nothing special.

Also, at the risk of sounding like I'm contradicting myself, I applaud the writers for not giving into the temptation to rely on voiceovers to show us what's in Morvernâ??s head. Samantha Morton is a good enough actress to silently get across the right emotions, or deceptive lack thereof, and the mood is appropriately dismal and bleak without narration to distract from it.