Click to read the article
Morvern Callar (2002)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:64
Rotten:12
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Morton quietly makes this quirky, enigmatic mood piece a compelling watch.
Theatrical Release:Dec 20, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: The role of the aimless young rebel hiding behind an emotional wall and steely eyes has been monopolized by men in the movies since James Dean. Samantha Morton, one of her generation's most gifted... The role of the aimless young rebel hiding behind an emotional wall and steely eyes has been monopolized by men in the movies since James Dean. Samantha Morton, one of her generation's most gifted actors, makes the most of her opportunity to embody such a figure in her role as the title character of MORVERN CALLAR. Momentarily frozen by the suicide of her boyfriend, Morvern mines two words from his brief suicide note: be brave. Finally removing his body from the apartment floor, she buries her boyfriend, pocketing the funeral money he left. She also courts publishers, claiming authorship of the novel he left behind as his legacy. Her new financial freedom and sense of mortality brings Morvern, joined by her coworker Lana (Kathleen McDermott), out of her bleak surroundings to a Spanish resort where the two are surrounded by fellow clubbers. Lynne Ramsay (RATCATCHER) evokes emotion through landscape as Morvern and Lana flee the dreary Scottish winter for a Spanish coastal town bathed in sunlight. Working from Alan Warner's novel, Ramsay uses powerful imagery and a soundtrack vacillating between contemplative silence, abrasive sound effects, and hip music to create a purely cinematic work, avoiding the trappings of an adaptation. [More]
Starring: Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Linda McGuire, Duncan McHardy
Starring: Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Linda McGuire, Duncan McHardy, Dolly Wells, Jim Wilson
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Screenwriter: Lynne Ramsay, Liana Dognini
Producer: George Faber, Charles Pattinson, Robyn Slovo
Studio: Cowboy Pictures
Get This Movie
Reviews for Morvern Callar
Morton uses her face and her body language to bring us Morvern's soul, even though the character is almost completely deadpan.
That old adage about women being unknowable gets an exhilarating new interpretation in Morvern Callar.
Samantha Morton plays Morvern with the impressive lack of self-consciousness that has become her trademark.
Ramsay is showing us one very particular type of person, a live-for-the-moment young woman who is fascinated by ugliness and pain and who -- like the poet, Terence -- believes nothing human is alien to her.
Ramsay succeeds primarily with her typical blend of unsettling atmospherics, delivering a series of abrasive, stylized sequences that burn themselves upon the viewer's memory.
Few films this year have been as resolute in their emotional nakedness.
A film about youthful confusion made without a moment of artistic immaturity or indecision.
As Morvern, [Morton is] disconcertingly enigmatic, often bordering on catatonic. But she carries the movie effortlessly.
The wonderfully lush Morvern Callar is pure punk existentialism, and Ms. Ramsay and her co-writer, Liana Dognini, have dramatized the Alan Warner novel, which itself felt like an answer to Irvine Welsh's book Trainspotting.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Morvern Callar at Rotten Tomatoes
- Morvern Callar at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

MSN Movies offers a little background on the success of Disney Animation.

TIME takes a look back at the history of vampires on film.

Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.

AOL put together a list of 10 recent news items that would be perfect as TV Movies.

Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill explores how remakes and reboots have warped our thinking.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic


