Carol Morley’s semi-documentary, Dreams Of A Life, was a mysterious look at the death of Joyce Carol Vincent, whose body lay undiscovered in a London bedsit for two years. In her astonishing follow-up, Morley again addresses the unseen and unspoken lives of women. Here, the younger subjects and fictional framework allow Morley’s emotional intelligence regarding female sexuality, control and expression to shine. The film also perfectly showcases her distinctive and wonderfully atmospheric directorial style.
Set in the murky dullness of a boarding school in ‘60s England, Game Of Thrones’ Maisie Williams plays Lydia, a razor-sharp student both infatuated with and jealous of her beautiful and sexually experienced best friend Abbie (Florence Pugh). When Lydia’s life begins to spiral out of control, she latches on to the concept of la petite mort, and sparks a period of mass fainting among her peers. The confusion and bewilderment of their teachers indicate that the girls aren’t portraying a sense of powerless possession – rather, they are taking complete control of their environment. Their fainting commands attention and demands the activity around them stop. The deliberate – if even subconsciously so – performance of a historically gendered act of helplessness becomes an act of resistance and control.
Williams and Pugh are stunning together, capturing the intimacy and intricacy of complex teen friendships. But it’s Morley’s vision that captures these layers of feminine energy: the romantic settings of Ophelia-like rivers; the charged energies of small suburban bedrooms; the secret, semi-erotic rituals that take place in the inner sanctum of girls’ bathrooms; and the surging layers of energy and meaning behind the tactility of female friendship.
Eerie, orgiastic and acutely observed, Morley’s film is a rabbit-hole into the world of women. Dare to fall.