Morvern Callar (2001)

Samantha Morton plays the enigmatic title character in Lynne Ramsay’s dreamy and atmospheric road movie.

Samantha Morton is exceptional as the titular character who flees her small-town Scottish existence following her boyfriend’s suicide. Adopting his unpublished manuscript as her own, she sells it to a publisher for an advance and sets out for southern Spain on a journey of discovery.

The taciturn Callar barely says a word during the film, a state of near-silence that’s effortlessly expressed by Morton and offset by a driving soundtrack of Krautrock and electronica. Lynne Ramsay’s second feature, following Ratcatcher and before We Need to Talk About Kevin, is one of the most distinctive British films of recent times.

2001 United Kingdom, Canada
Directed by
Lynne Ramsay
Produced by
Robyn Slovo, Charles Pattinson, George Faber
Written by
Lynne Ramsay, Liana Dognini
Featuring
Samantha Morton, Kathleen Mcdermott, Raife Patrick Burchell
Running time
97 minutes

Ranked in The Greatest Films of All Time poll

Sight and Sound

Who voted for Morvern Callar

Critics

Grace Barber-Plentie
UK
Anna Coatman
UK
Jake Cunningham
UK
Rōgan Graham
UK
Fionnuala Halligan
UK
Alistair Harkness
UK
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Australia
Ruby McGuigan
UK
Hind Mezaina
United Arab Emirates
Jasper Sharp
UK
Kyle Stevens
USA
Rebecca Vick
UK

Directors

Desiree Akhavan
USA
Mahalia Belo
UK
Daniel Goldhaber
USA
Moin Hussain
UK
Georgia Oakley
Rob Savage
UK

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