The Souvenir (2019)

Director: Joanna Hogg
Stars: Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke, Tilda Swinton
Runtime: 120 minutes

Synopsis: A young film student in the early '80s becomes romantically involved with a complicated and untrustworthy man.

Performances: 4/5
Screenplay: 4/5
Costumes/Makeup: 4/5
Editing: 3/5
Cinematography: 4/5
Score/Soundtrack: 3/5

Verdict: Based on writer/director Joanna Hogg's real-life romantic relationship with a complicated man in the early '80s while she was a still a young film student, "The Souvenir" is a touching, deeply personal tale that succeeds at being as grounded and real as possible.

Hogg's character, fictionalized as Julie, is portrayed by Honor Swinton Byrne, daughter of childhood friend Tilda Swinton who also makes a small appearance in the film as her mother. Prior to that movie, Honor didn't really have any experience in the acting field, only briefly appearing in "I Am Love" 10 years ago. Hogg's trust in the inexperienced actress turns out to be rewarding, as the acting gene in the Swinton family is undeniably real. She truly gives a very layered performance, showing an array of emotions, and certainly contributes to the film's realness by grounding her performance to the point where I completely believed her to be a genuine person. Tom Burke, who plays her partner Anthony, was also phenomenal. His unlikability is very much present from the second he's introduced to us and it becomes quickly apparent that Julie's relationship with him is fueled by blind passion and disdain. Hogg also relies on representational cinematography to give the film an '80s feel, and it works like a charm. "The Souvenir" achieves what it aims to achieve in a very effective manner, but that comes at the cost of feeling much less cinematic. With a relatively long runtime and extremely slow pacing, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't glance at my watch occasionally.

"The Souvenir" is certainly an interesting watch and I can see why both A24 and Martin Scorsese (one of the film's producers) were invested in telling that story. Its ending definitely made me feel something, and that says a lot about its quality and effective storytelling. There's a Part II coming out in the near future, and I'll certainly be checking it out as soon as it comes out.    

FINAL GRADE: 7/10