The End We Start From

Far better than the reviews suggest, this is a well made indie climate fiction road movie in a similar style to 28 Days Later and Children of Men. But unlike those two excellent films, this is a character driven and a more ambient experience. It still follows a linear plot and is not what I would describe as overly art house (think Terrence Mallick) but I can understand why it might be a little slow and non-immediate for some. But it is a beautifully shot movie with great performances and a standout turn by the excellent Jodie Comer, who displays believable strength and vulnerability in a story that steers clear of contrivance, cliche, and convenience.

The End We Start From hadn't been on my radar before and the trailer didn't give a huge amount away. I had no expectations but it wasn't a bad little film. It had a made for TV style and was clearly produced on a low budget. If you are expecting epic disaster or dramatic dystopian events then you will be disappointed. If you enjoyed 28 Days Later or How I Live Now then The End We Start From should be an enjoyable watch for you, although both those films are better than this. Jodie Comer is quite captivating but I feel like her big starring film role is yet to come. Luckily it wasn't overlong so it didn't drag on.

Wikipedia told me this was a story about a woman escaping London after an ecological disaster wipes out 99% of humanity. This is definitely not true. Poignant, but not really a disaster flick. If you are a sicko like me and love scenes of destroyed, ruined cities and absolute destruction, there are very few of those and the movie does not lean on them at all.

Other than that, Jodie Comer is great, and I thought Waterston was great as well. If you want to see a young mum of a newborn getting stuff done and developing her own agency as both a mother and a woman while dealing with ecological disaster, this will do nicely.

Society is thrown into chaos after a natural disaster, a woman faces a huge challenge to keep her new born baby safe.

It's a film that's hard to hate, but virtually impossible to love, it promised so much, but offered relatively little.

It's a disaster story, but not a disaster movie, the focus is very much on the mother, and motherhood, we learn relatively noting about the disaster, it's just a talking point for that most part.

You can't argue with the acting, Jodie Comer and Joel Fry are both very good, but the script could have been a little sharper, and a bit more interesting, it's a little disjointed.

It's watchable, it has some interesting elements, but ultimately it was a little disappointing, and that ending, it reminded me of that hilarious ending from The Day after tomorrow.

Mehhh.

6/10.

Greetings again from the darkness. In light of the recent torrential storms in California, and other environmental occurrences, this film based on Megan Hunter's 2017 novel proves quite timely. Mahalio Belo directs the screenplay adapted by Alice Birch (LADY MACBETH, 2016), and we witness just how quickly things can change ... and perhaps equally important, we witness how people change in desperate times.

The remarkable Jodie Comer ("Killing Eve", THE LAST DUEL) stars, and early on she's pregnant in a bathtub as flash flooding hits the area of London where she lives. The heavy rain blends into childbirth with visual excellence from director Belo, cinematographer Suzie Lavelle, and editor Arttu Salmi. Fortunately, this does not turn into one of those heavy-CGI apocalyptic films, and instead stays grounded, and thanks to Comer's superb talent, becomes a story focused on the strength inspired by motherhood. It's a very human story derived from an environmental catastrophe.

Flooding reaches such proportions that the new mother and her husband (Joel Fry, YESTERDAY, 2019) are forced to pack up their newborn and evacuate their home, seeking refuge at his parents' (Mark Strong, Nina Sosanya) country home. When tragedy strikes, mother and baby are isolated, and the film shifts into a road movie of survival. The mother faces many challenges along the way, and the decisions aren't always easy, but certainly her commitment to keeping her baby safe cannot be questioned. Along the way, she crosses paths with another new mom (the always terrific Katherine Waterston), who makes a good travel companion, and a loner played by Benedict Cumberbatch who provides the women with a much needed serving of food and momentary distraction.

Mostly what we see is how people react to traumatic situations when desperation takes over. Law and order gives way to human needs and selfishness. Understandably, these reactions take on varying tones and looks ... sometimes it's looters at the shelter, while other times it's an island community isolated from collapsing society and working together to begin anew. Viewers will experience vicarious anxiety as Comer's mother and child trudge on, yet again, it must be noted that little here seems over-the-top. In fact, the only scene that fits that is a stunning waterfall shot seemingly included only for its visual beauty. The storms may have caused a power outage, but the real power shown here is the protective nature of a determined mother (and of course, Ms. Comer's performance).

Available to buy or rent on digital beginning February 6, 2024.