Morvern Callar (2002)
82%RT Audience Score: 74%
Awards & Nominations: 10 wins & 16 nominations
Morton quietly makes this quirky, enigmatic mood piece a compelling watch
Morvern Callar” is a movie that’s as cool as a cucumber, and just as refreshing. Samantha Morton’s performance is out of this world, and Lynne Ramsay’s direction is as raw as sushi. It’s a mesmerizing conundrum of a movie that will leave you suspended in perpetual motion. And if you’re looking for resolution, well, good luck with that. But who needs resolution when you have Samantha Morton and Lynne Ramsay working together in cinematic heaven?
Production Company(ies)
Greenwich Film Productions, Herald Ace Nippon Herald Films,
Distributor
Cowboy Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Almería, Andalucía, Spain
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for sexuality, nudity, language and some disturbing images
Year of Release
2002
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 37m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 20, 2002 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Raife Patrick Burchell, Dan Cadan, Carolyn Calder, Jim Wilson, Tom Boddington, directed by Lynne Ramsay, written by Liana Dognini, Lynne Ramsay, Alan Warner, Drama, R rating, box office gross $267.2K, produced by George Faber, Charles Pattinson, Robyn Slovo, reviewed by Alyx Vesey, Joshua Rothkopf, Kristin M Jones, Richard Nilsen, Eleanor Ringel Cater, Rick Groen, Ray Pride, Matt Brunson, PJ Nabarro, Lindsay Pugh, Jeffrey Overstreet, minimalist, emotional journey, Glasgow, suicide, novel, Spanish vacation, quirky, enigmatic, compelling, Morton, Ramsay, loss, death, character study, introspective, soundtrack, personal adventure, self-discovery, unexpected opportunities, Samantha Morton’s best performance, slow-paced, hypnotic, flamboyant, poetic, delicate, young soul, existentialist, personal growth, offbeat, half-admiring direction, half-narrative
Worldwide gross: $772,336
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,280,968
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,537
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 139,691
US/Canada gross: $267,907
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $444,341
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,352
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,836
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $22,948
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,463
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Kathleen McDermott – Lanna
Raife Patrick Burchell – Boy in Room 1022
Dan Cadan – Dazzer
Carolyn Calder – Sheila Tequila
Jim Wilson – Tom Boddington
Director(s)
Lynne Ramsay
Writer(s)
Liana Dognini, Lynne Ramsay, Alan Warner
Producer(s)
George Faber, Charles Pattinson, Robyn Slovo
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
10 wins & 16 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (83) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (13)
Ultimately provides little resolution for our tough heroine, and the way the film visualizes this discontent continues to haunt at least one viewer.
January 7, 2021
Alyx Vesey
Bitch Media
TOP CRITIC
Morvern Callar isn’t just cool, it’s downright arctic: Ramsay takes her alienation neat with rarely a chaser of glam.
March 16, 2020
Joshua Rothkopf
In These Times
TOP CRITIC
While [Lynne] Ramsay’s sensibility is entirely her own, it approaches the rawness of work by Nan Goldin or Richard Billingham.
February 14, 2018
Kristin M. Jones
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Morton finds a wealth of nuance in anomie and neurasthenia.
July 19, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
A mesmerizing conundrum of a suspended life in perpetual motion.
July 16, 2003 | Rating: A-
Eleanor Ringel Cater
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TOP CRITIC
With little dialogue to assist her — just the strains of that wonderfully organic music — [Morton] still manages to suggest the internal struggle, and to slowly reveal a fierce toughness that flies in the face of conventional morality.
May 30, 2003 | Rating: 3/4
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
Ramsay has a photographers knack for capturing the blush and blur of glimpse in an intoxicated instant, constructing an emotional subjectivity, a shimmering use of focus and focal lengths that disorient our perceptions at just the right moment.
February 5, 2022 | Rating: 10/10
Ray Pride
Newcity
Ramsay and Morton trust the audience enough to resist softening up or even explaining their central character, resulting in a difficult yet ultimately rewarding piece.
June 16, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
The narration submits to the sensitised state that Morvern retreats into as she embarks on what could loosely be described as a personal epiphany: reinventing herself abroad.
December 15, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
PJ Nabarro
One Room With A View
“Morvern Callar” is beautiful, crushing, and nihilistic as hell. Samantha Morton + Lynne Ramsay = heaven and I want them to work on another project together.
October 24, 2018
Lindsay Pugh
Woman in Revolt
Samantha Morton’s performance recalls Emily Watson’s work in Breaking the Waves — you can’t take your eyes off of her.
January 15, 2005 | Rating: B-
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
Morvern Callar is assured and confidently-made, even as the emotions of the title character seem brittle and crystalline.
March 3, 2004
Matt Bailey
Not Coming to a Theater Near You…
Plot
After her boyfriend commits suicide, Morvern Callar invents stories to explain his absence and sends his completed novel to publishers as her own work, using the payment to take a surprising emotional journey with her best friend.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Samantha Morton’s performance in Morvern Callar, calling it “exceptionally brilliant.”
Lynne-Ramsay.jpg
