Wildling (2018)
Click to viewYou can watch it in full here.
All I can say is that this film is GORGEOUS. It's stunningly, achingly beautiful and achieves what others in the genre have failed to. Both themes of "who is the real monster" and "coming of age" allegory (both of which I normally absolutely loath) are really skillfully handled here.
I would say the least you know about the film, the better. However, there is trigger and content warning for some violence, attempted sexual violence (with a delightful pay off, don't worry), some truly disturbing images, needles, teeth, attempted suicide, hospitals, and some really, really creepy and deeply disturbing caretaker figure-child stuff that if you have anything amiss with that, I would suggest avoiding it or bracing yourself. Some of it is really horrifying.
It was produced by Liv Tyler and she also stars in it and she is absolutely freaking wonderful. The entire cast is really wonderful. Bel Powley is so good, it's unreal. Brad Dourif is absolutely disgusting.
There is a lot of wonderful mystery in this film, and a lot of which isn't fully explained, and instead of coming across as lazy or unfinished, the film continues to race in your mind long after it's finished. You keep asking yourself what you just watched. However, nothing in the film feels unnecessary, even if you never find out what actually happened.
It's such a beautiful film, so gorgeous, so smartly written, sympathetic as well as empathetic, that climaxes into a visceral and gruesome satisfying finish that leaves you feeling like you're still in a hallucination dreamstate.
A really satisfying film. It feels more like a poem than a film. Just gorgeous.