The Party's Just Beginning | Film Review

Hey Guys x

This is Karen Gillan's feature film directorial debut (she had previously directed two shorts), and I was really excited to see it. Not just because I'm a fan, but also because I thought the film had a really interesting, unique premise.

It has been almost a year since Liusaidh's (Karen Gillan) best friend Alistair (Matthew Beard) killed himself, and she still isn't coping. But after a chance encounter with a man that she never expects to see again (Lee Pace), and multiple phone calls to someone that she'll never meet (Ralph Riach), can Liusaidh find a way to live while her best friend is dead?

I don't think my description did the film justice, but it's a really hard one describe without basically just spelling out the entire plot.

While watching the film, I went through stages of really liking it, and stages of not liking it that much.

For a start, while it's not boring at all, it does move frustratingly slowly, particularly in the beginning. It's like trying to run, and being constantly held back. You want more information about Liusaidh, about Alistar, about Dale (Lee Pace's character), and it never feels like you get what you want. Even after seeing the film, I don't really know that much about anyone.
Having said that, part of me felt like this was done deliberately, to reflect Liusaidh's state of mind. We don't know the information that she doesn't know, and we don't know more about her and Alistair because the memories are too painful for her to recall. So in this sense, I like that about the film.

The film has a really great script (it was also written by Gillan). The dialogue was written in such a way that you can almost see it on the page - particularly Liusaidh's lines.

One thing that struck me was how little I see films set in Scotland, where you can tell that a lot of the cast are Scottish. I really loved how authentic the film felt because of this, and you can tell that this was on Gillan's mind when she was writing and directing it.

The film is a really interesting portrayal of depression. It's literally all the film is about, but done in such a way that doesn't drag the audience down to the point where they feel as bad as Liusaidh does.

However, one of the reasons for me that the film was 'just' about depression was because the relationship between Liusaidh and Dale never felt as significant as it should. You know that this relationship changes her, but you don't really see why or how.
And to be honest, I'd go to the extent that we don't see enough of Liusaidh's relationship with Alistair to fully understand the impact - maybe there should have been more flashbacks?

Overall, this film was interesting. It's not something you'd watch to feel good, and it was a bit bland in places, but overall a really intriguing delve into the world of depression.

5.5/10

Lou