Funny, fierce, and feral, the female leads in Timestalker, Hard Truths and Nightbitch may face different hardships but their goal is one and the same: to break the cycle they're stuck in.
Behind the Lens: Exploring Directors, Past Works, and Themes at Cornwall Film Festival
Timestalker follows the hapless heroine Agnes as she is relentlessly reincarnated into different eras of history every time she makes the same mistake: falling in love with the wrong man. Despite Agnes’ wish for happy endings, she is instead faced with countless unlucky gory deaths, thus initiating the whole cycle to start over again a decade later. Alice Lowe stars and directs in this “hilariously silly” anti-romcom as our lead, taking us on this karmic journey of recognising the futility and ridiculousness of chasing ‘soulmate’ romance. Underneath the film's belly laughs and playful grim misfortunes, there's a “bittersweet layer of regret for the centuries of lost time women have devoted to the fantasy of eternal love” (BFI).
In Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, we are faced with a feisty lead character Pansy, an “overwhelmingly powerful female lead” (The Guardian) from Jean-Baptiste. Pansy is a woman who is angry with the world, angry with her family, and angry with her life which is full of nothing but cynicism and of course, anger. Her family and cheerful sister Chantelle long for Pansy to break free from this cycle of endless criticism but their interventions are often met with tense arguments and a rejection of their help. This contemporary drama is a poignant exploration of familial relationships and demonstrates the “terrible connection between depression and anger” (The Guardian). In conversation with Vanity Fair, Mike Leigh explained “It’s just about people. It’s about all of us in our good and less so good aspects.” Jean-Baptiste does a flawless job of encapsulating the good and bad aspects of humanity in what is a “devastating, nuanced performance” (Vanity Fair).
Blending together surrealism and seriousness, we have our third persevering protagonist in Nightbitch. Amy Adams stars as an unnamed “Mother” who is grappling with the demands of parenting, her loss of identity and the “animalistic urge to reclaim it” (The Hollywood Reporter). At first, she is desperate to escape the trap of domesticity but then slowly begins to embrace the power of motherhood, and in reclaiming it we see her morph into a dog. Yes, a dog. This film is a fun, ferocious and fearless exploration of motherhood and society's expectation that a woman must magically adapt to handling its chaos. Adams delivers an unrestrained performance and excels in a role which sees her succumb to being haggard, vicious and even sprouting actual fangs.
Whether it's romantic love, a grudge against the world, or maternal confinement, these women are wanting out and fighting back. We look forward to seeing them reclaim both their freedom and their narratives in these relentless, fearless performances.
Don't miss these screenings at Cornwall Film Festival. Grab your tickets below!
Timestalker on Saturday 23rd November 5:00 PM @ The Poly.
Hard Truths on Saturday 23rd November 7:30 PM @ The Poly.
Nightbitch on Wednesday 20th November 7:30 PM @ The Poly.
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