The Souvenir - 2019
Updated: Sep 22, 2022
The Souvenir may be the most artful picture of 2019. In that regard, there is really a ton of reasons to recommend it. I'll just briefly touch on two here. For starters, the relationship between its two leads is one of the most hypnotic, relatable, and ultimately crushing in all of the year's films. Julie is a demure film student who is only beginning to feel her feet beneath her vocationally. Unfortunately, she is just starting to hit her stride when she comes face to face with her possible ruin. In this case, the one who could snuff out her burgeoning voice is the older Anthony, a government man who slowly becomes dear to her heart. The only trouble is that Anthony is a heroin user, a thief, and a deeply untrustworthy individual. What then will become of their romance?
The Souvenir deserves tremendous praise for the way it handily treats age discrepancies and the nature of unhealthy power dynamics in love. Moreover, it's treatment of addictions' effect on both the user and the lover who sees through it to the heart of the man, and the loss of innocence that is the inevitable result of such encounters is commendable. Space forbids a full treatment of this here, but suffice it to say - Joanna Hogg's presentation of this liaison is exquisite.
Finally, I can't leave here without mentioning one Honor Swinton Byrne. This was her FIRST FILM CREDIT! Friends, I can't emphasize enough how crazy this is. She completely carries this film on her able beyond her years shoulders. Her performance is simply magnetic. She manages to be so effective that we both hurt for her and better understand the humanity in Anthony. Their love is so true to life because it is full of soaring highs AND devastating lows. If ANY of these delicate lines of tension are left unbalanced, the whole film topples. Instead, Byrne brings it all together in herself. We witness rare greatness, and we walk away in gratitude.
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