The Unloved
Melbourne International Film Festival, 02/08/2010
Status: Behind by 17 films
Awesome actor and debut director SAMANTHA MORTON said that with The Unloved she “wanted to make a beautiful film about what happened to me”. What happened was that, at eleven, she was put into a halfway home for children and then finally placed into foster care. Not an easy subject from which to derive beauty, eh?
The Unloved focuses on Lucy (newcomer MOLLY WINDSOR) and her time in the halfway house after being removed from the care of her father (ROBERT CARLYLE, Trainspotting) who hits her. It’s bleak subject matter, but Morton steers away from bogged down tragedy. Morton (who doesn’t act in the film) mixes naturalistic performances with fairly arch camera work to create a languid mood for the film. She also incorporates Lucy’s memories as tiny pieces of narrative texture, rather than expository episodes, which adds richness to the film without having to spend time with the obvious backstory.
Much like Precious, The Unloved is uncompromising blunt, but also dignified and, indeed, beautiful.
