Joanna Hogg's personal film about when she was first starting out as a film director and when she has a relationship with an older man. This relationship is meant to be from when it first blooms to the sad a heartbreaking end but all I could see was gloom and doom from the outset.
Previously published on VultureHound HERE.
Films of an autobiographical nature can either delve deeper into the psyche of the person who the story is about or they can remain on the surface, only touching upon truth. With Joanna Hogg’s personal film, ‘The Souvenir’ is meant to be autobiographical and manages to be both but not in way you’d expect or wanted. Julia, a student at film school meets the older, more supposedly sophisticated Anthony who works for the foreign office. As their relationship develops, truths about Anthony surface forcing Julia to decide what she wants. Her ambitions of being a filmmaker are also put in jeopardy because of the difficult and complex relationship that at times puts great strain on the couple.
Julia, wants to make a feature film that tells a story outside of her comfort zone as well as outside her experience. This seems to be a passion at the start of the film, which Julia keeps talking about but as her relationship with Anthony takes over her life, her ambition and her work are left to the side and never the focus. The relationship that Julia and Anthony share is oddly introduced and it is never really clear when it becomes sexual. It manifests slowly, giving time for Julia to fall in love with Anthony but that love is never really overtly obvious from either side, even as hideous secrets are revealed about Anthony’s character, there isn’t any proper discussion but rather an acceptance by Julia. The only emotion that can be taken from this couple is that it is hindering Julia’s aspirations and closing her off from everyone else in her life.
Hogg has a keen eye for realistic moments, not giving Honor Swinton (Julia) a script to work from and only diaries and work from that time in her life produced genuine reactions to events as they unfold. As this is Honor’s first acting role, her constant vulnerability throughout is painfully real, especially during the break down of the relationship with Anthony. This is a personal film as this is all taken from Hogg’s memory and life but aside from seeing the beginnings of a artist, the relationship never feels like a good influence but rather a painful experience that has left a lasting mark on the filmmaker we admire today. Proceed with caution when watching ‘The Souvenir’ if you have ever experienced something like this.