Review of The Souvenir (2019) by Jlbutson — 29 Jun 2019

Well-crafted and visually captivating, The Souvenir makes you sit and slowly absorb the tale as it’s unraveling, which is to say this movie isn’t for everyone, If it’s a neatly packaged and spoon-fed plot with a quick pace you’re looking for this film is definitely not for you! Reminiscent of Bergman films where what’s not said is every bit as important as what is spoken, I loved the theatrical atmosphere akin to watching a play/stage as most of the film is set in the apartment of our lead character who is in film school and often more an observer than a participant in the beginning.

Evocative of the early eighties London where much of it takes place, we are invited to the parties, the dinner table, the bedroom, and even the editing room as our heroine film maker falls for her rather louche lover and they slowly descend into his heroin addiction.