09/08/2021 - Charlotte Colbert blends film history, art and gothic horror in a genre-defying look at the politics surrounding #MeToo

There are remnants of witches in the soil of the Scottish Highlands present in Charlotte Colbert's debut film, She Will [+see also:
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It's an impressive debut from Colbert, an established artist and award-winning filmmaker whose artworks have appeared at the V&A Museum of Childhood, the Saatchi Gallery and Art Basel. This artistic background can be seen as the film straddles the line between arthouse and gallery with its use of symbolism to engage the emotional truth of the characters in preference to any dialogue aimed at pushing along the plot. It tells the story of an ageing actress, Victoria Ghent (Alice Krige), who heads to a healing retreat in Scotland with her nurse, Desi (Kota Eberhardt), after a double mastectomy.

Recovering from the operation, Ghent draws power from this new lease of life and her new environment. The changes see her mind engage the subconscious, and thus her world becomes a heady blur of reality and reverie, in which past traumas that she has hidden deep inside her suddenly reappear. Ghent's visions and the Scottish mist are captured by rising-star cinematographer Jamie D Ramsay (Moffie [+see also:
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Ghent has flashbacks to her childhood when, as a 13-year-old girl, she was cast by renowned filmmaker Hathbourne, who took advantage of his position on set to overstep the mark with his star. Colbert veers away from showing anything too graphic or damning, leaving room for Hathbourne to try to make a defence. In the present day, Hathbourne is interviewed for a television show, where accusations made about his past behaviour come to the surface, scenes that are jarringly on the nose. Nonetheless, with legendary actor Malcolm McDowell playing Hathbourne, the film cleverly uses his iconic face, bringing up memories of his leading role in A Clockwork Orange, a flick that caused controversy with its depiction of male violence against women. The movie is well aware of its attempt to reframe film history without trying to score points by showing off how clever it is.

Krige, whose first feature was Chariots of Fire, has enjoyed most of her successes on the British stage, but here, Colbert makes use of close-ups and her stunning face to look beyond the make-up. Perfectly cast, Krige's tree-like qualities give the scenes where her character Ghent takes power from the nature and history surrounding her an added strength and resonance. Eberhardt ably supports her as Desi, who runs into her own problems in a local bar, as Colbert investigates the problematic terrain of public spaces, drinking and male ego. It's not all doom and gloom, though, as Rupert Everett makes a humorous cameo as an art teacher.

It's a delicate film that doesn't always succeed in pulling off the marriage between symbolism and plot. Still, Colbert excels in turning this cauldron of plot strands, art and gothic horror into a story of female empowerment, where the strength the women find comes not through revenge, but through collective understanding.

She Will was produced by the UK’s Popcorn Group (Jessica Malik) and Bob Last, and executive-produced by Edward R Pressman, Sam Pressman, Ed Clarke, Sam Cryer, Hannah Leader, Thorsten Schumacher and Sara Woodhatch. Its international sales are handled by Rocket Science.