GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL 2020 - Eternal Beauty
GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL 2020
Craig Roberts sophomore effort Eternal Beauty is a dense and sadistic telling of Jane, played by Sally Hawkins, who has schizophrenia in a nightmarish environment of false friendship and manipulative family members.
Undeniably the highlight here is the brilliant performance from Sally Hawkins, who continues her impressive rate of dishing out next to flawless performances in an underrated and underseen filmography as one of the most dependable actresses working today. Hawkins range is immeasurable here in a resulting performance that emotionally messages to an extraordinary rate. It is staggering to see such an emotionally brash and engulfing execution that utterly embroils the audience, keeping them engaged throughout.
Hawkins aside, throughout the eighty or so minute running time it is never quite clear in what writer-director Roberts is genuinely trying to say. At its most simplistic definition and description, the feature plays like a kitchen sink drama; however, it is not convicted as such. And while this sub-genre has darker tendencies, it is never engulfed in showcasing a pure calamity of life, unlike this feature.
It could be argued that Eternal Beauty is an honest and authentic reflection of mental illness. That being said, Roberts never seems to cater to the acceptance of having such an illness. Instead, the director douses the viewer in an incredible amount of nihilistic tendencies to showcase the utter horror of everything and anything with zero hope. By throwing a seismic amount of sadistic behaviour regarding the narrative, ultimately, the viewer is watching one long torturous tale. The resulting imbalance of tone affects the thematic weight of the events displayed, and thus the overall viewing. Slowly but surely Eternal Beauty falls foul in having all the pieces in all the wrong order leading to an incredibly underwhelming and flat result.
