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Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Raife Patrick Burchell, Dan Cadan, Carolyn Calder ... see more see more... , Jim Wilson , Dolly Wells , Ruby Milton , Linda McGuire , Duncan McHardy

A woman's life is set onto a new path by tragedy and confusion in this offbeat drama from maverick director Lynne Ramsay. Morvern Callar (Samantha Morton) is a woman in her early twenties who wakes up... read more read more... in her flat in a small Scottish town on Christmas morning to a rather unpleasant surprise -- her live-in boyfriend has committed suicide, and his body lies on the floor in a pool of blood. She discovers that he has left a short message for her on the screen of his personal computer ("I love you. Be brave."), as well as the text of a novel he had recently completed. Changing the name on the title page to her own, Morvern begins sending the manuscript out to publishers without having actually read it. Eventually, Morvern disposes of her boyfriend's body, scrubs away the evidence of his suicide, and attempts to reintegrate herself with the world, though the shocking events seems to have built a wall between her and those around her, and she is unable to explain what has happened to anyone, even her best friend, Lanna (Kathleen McDermott). Eventually, Morvern draws the last of her boyfriend's money from the bank and treats herself and Lanna to a short vacation in Spain, where they become friendly with a group of hedonistic British expatriates and soon find their friendship stretched to the breaking point. Morvern Callar was based on the novel by Alan Warner; it was originally intended to be Lynne Ramsay's first directorial effort, but she was able to complete her film Ratcatcher before securing funding for this project. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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73% liked it

5,382 ratings

Critics

84% liked it

76 critics

R, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Lynne Ramsay

Release Date: December 20, 2002

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DVD Release Date: December 16, 2003

Stats: 373 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (373)

  • dunmyer
    March 27, 2010
    dunmyer
    "Morvern Callar," the second feature film from British writer/director Lynne Ramsay (after 1999's heart-breaking and unfairly overlooked "Ratcatcher"), is an enigmatic film with almost no dialogue. It tells the story of a twenty-something supermarket clerk (played by the always i... read morentriguing Samantha Morton) who skates along the surfaces of life, going from party to party. Ramsay's artistic goals are hard to pinpoint, but one of them here seems to be a fairly scathing indictment of 1990s British youth culture.

    Morton's character, named Morvern Callar, is a girl from a lower-middle-class background living in a small town in Scotland. She has a pleasant demeanor but little to say. She only hangs around with people her age, whose favorite pastime is all-night raves where drugs and alcohol flow liberally. Let's just say that reading books is the last thing on the minds of these 21-year-olds. Their greatest happiness is a feeling of oblivion. Ramsay may not like ravers very much, but she certainly gets them. The depiction of aimless youth is better here than I've probably seen anywhere.

    The problem is that it doesn't make for very compelling viewing. Boring people don't often make arresting protagonists. Ramsay also doesn't push her agenda with much intensity. She starts to seem as bored with the film as the characters are bored with life. I like the basic idea of the project very much, and there is a haunting quality to the filmmaking, just like there was with Ramsay's previous film, "Ratcatcher." But Ramsay got stalled in the story development, never fully baking her ideas. Thus "Callar" has a sketchy, fragmentary quality to it that isn't very compelling.

    There is one story thread that tightens up substantially at the tail end of the film involving a spectacular attempt at plagiarism and a dead boyfriend. The film would have been stronger had Ramsay focused on this more. She seemed determined to drain the movie of as much story as possible, when there were several threads begging for development.

    There's no mistaking, however, that Lynne Ramsay is a talented, original, and genuinely artistic filmmaker. Even a weaker piece of work from her has more value in it than the mountain of prefabricated entertainment product being churned out in America. Cinephiles the world over owe it to themselves to cross paths with Ramsay's work. I'm very disappointed that she's had trouble getting a third film together. I wait with bated breath for her return to filmmaking!
  • SirPant
    October 2, 2009
    SirPant
    Lynne Ramsay is a brilliant director and Samantha Morton is fantastic. Not for everyone but this is one of the best films of the 2000's so far!
  • rubystevens
    December 1, 2008
    rubystevens
    strange film but i liked it. samantha morton is always worth watching. more modern than ratcatcher but almost as stunning to look at. very nice soundtrack too.
  • ceWEBrity
    November 25, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    Interesting movie...not entirely successful, but compelling in its own bizarre way. Lynne Ramsay has a hell of a good eye behind the camera and her music selections are superb. For someone with such a solid sense of style, and an unintrusive way of splicing it into a narrative, R... read moreamsay hasn't exactly seen much work. Life sucks for female directors.

    My big problem with Morvern Callar is kind of my own - I have a huge problem comprehending Scottish accents and could hardly understand what any of the actors were saying. I watched the movie on Netflix, so subtitles weren't an option, and turning it up didn't help much. It's a testament to the movie's striking physicality that I took as much away from it as I did, so maybe it's actually an advantage in the long run. Also, some people may find the film ponderous and navel-gazing; it is inaccessible, yes, but never lost in itself. You could write an essay on what the movie tells you (and doesn't tell you) about Morvern. In this regard, the movie owes a lot to Samantha Morton, who seamlessly nails an incredibly tricky role. For me, her bizarre behavior didn't raise any question marks, but just acted as a reminder about how confusing it is to be young, poor and unhappy.

    Morvern Callar demands a lot of patience and attention, and the returns are not really for everyone. I recommend it, but hesitantly. If you don't care to watch the film, at least get the soundtrack. Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, The Velvet Underground...good stuff right thurr.
  • gor41
    February 28, 2008
    gor41
    Wonderfully composed study of grief with a gutsy performance by Morton backed up by beautiful imagery and sound.
  • fb1364753347
    April 15, 2012
    fb1364753347
    I really liked watching this film, Lynne Ramsey is a great film-maker. Unfortunately, half the time watching this film I spent admiring the direction rather than the narrative.
  • divinetrash
    December 14, 2009
    divinetrash
    Amazing movie. It has definitely one of the best soundtracks ever and Samantha Morton gives such a calm yet layered performance, she's truly haunting; one viewing is clearly not enough to fully understand all of her character.
  • littlecharmer1959
    February 28, 2008
    littlecharmer1959
    I was pleasantly surprised by this. Great acting throughout and nicely shot. Love the soundtrack too!
  • scrambledegg7
    May 27, 2011
    scrambledegg7
    This drama wanders around and around and ends in a stunningly tragic final act, but takes far too long getting there. It lost my interest long before the payoff. I remain unimpressed with Samantha Morton.
  • jes25924
    September 23, 2008
    jes25924
    Mix tapes from the dead and stolen novels, mean ambigious beautifully photographed crowded dance halls and lonely deserts.

    After Morvern's boyfreind kills himself on Christmas Day, he leaves a note saying "don't try to understand, be strong, pay ...(read more) for my funeral ... read morewith my account and send my book to the publishers", and instead she cuts up his corpse burries him(after several days of him on the kitchen floor), signs her name to his book, and uses the advance to go on a trip to Spain to with her best freind, who she later ditches in the desert.

    Though the journey sounds thrilling and surreal, and it many of its finest moments it is, it's a also haunted one, beautifully photographed and excellently aurally composed. It is as much and visual and tonal expression of isolation as it is a feast for the senses.

    There's very little dialogue and somewhat thick scottish accents are a little hard to hear without subtitles, in many scenes though what is audible is often fighting over the roar of crowds or the roar of music. Not unike Callar herself, one small voice, among many, being at best, partially heard, but talking on anyway.

    Samantha Morton (the main pre-cog in Minority Report) is hypnotic and commanding, as is the movie in general. One of the best Christmas films in years!

View All Morvern Callar Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard Nilsen
July 19, 2003
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic

Morton finds a wealth of nuance in anomie and neurasthenia.

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
July 16, 2003
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A mesmerizing conundrum of a suspended life in perpetual motion. Full Review

Colin Covert
June 5, 2003
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

A film about youthful confusion made without a moment of artistic immaturity or indecision. Full Review

Rick Groen
May 30, 2003
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

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 ... Full Review

Geoff Pevere
May 30, 2003
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Maintains your sympathy for this otherwise challenging soul by letting you share her one-room world for a while. Full Review

Ty Burr
April 18, 2003
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Even if both films are about accidental sinners, Morvern Callar turns out to be a very different, and more difficult, film than Ratcatcher. Full Review

Gary Dowell
April 10, 2003
Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News

As opaque as the movie is, it's redeemed by Ms. Morton's superb, disaffected performance. Full Review

Jay Boyar
April 4, 2003
Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel

With her broad, thinker's forehead, imp's crooked grin and large, deer-in-the-headlights eyes, Morton at first suggests hidden depths within Morvern. But as the film plays on, the character comes off ...

Robert Denerstein
March 28, 2003
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

Appealing? Not exactly. But Morvern Callar ... is a strange and evocative work that's not easy to dismiss.

Carrie Rickey
March 20, 2003
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

Exceptionally moving.

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