AMULET

UK, 2020, 99 minutes, Colour.

Carla Juri, Alec Secareanu, Imelda Staunton, Anah Ruddin, Angeliki Papoulia.

Directed by Romola Garai.

A drama that moves between continental Europe and the UK – but, after an hour, more explicit demonic aspects appearing, transforming what has been seen and leading to some grotesque crises.

The screenplay has been written and directed by British actress, Romola Garai, with two central female roles that she herself could have played.

The film opens in a beautifully green valley, a country at war, the central character, Tomaz (Romanian actor, Alec Secareanu who acted with Josh O’Connor in God’s Own Country) border guard. The film focuses on him, his work, his seeing a woman trying to cross the border, his saving her, her attempted escape And his attack on her.

 Then he is in London, lining up for work, living in a hostel, the hostel going up in smoke and his being rescued by a rather forthright nun, and the interesting casting of Imelda Staunton. She takes him into an old house, in need of repair, where a young woman (Carla Juri) is looking after her invalid mother, locked in an attic.

The film explores the drama of the young woman, her isolation, the first meetings with Tomaz, his hesitations, the meals, the room, the discovery of the sick mother, his working on the house, discovering a dead bat in the toilet, the bat biting him. And, the two gradually coming to some kind of understanding, going out to dancing at a club, a romantic advance, conversations about their lives, the sick mother, and his intentions to study for a doctorate.

But, in the last half hour, there is quite a change in atmosphere, the nun turning out to be some kind of emissary of the devil, saying that she didn’t get the nun disguise quite right, then appearing quite dolled up and confronting Tomaz. Then all kinds of grotesque moments, the demonic mother, the attempt to kill her, his slashing her, the effect on him, and the taunting by the nun.

And be a seeming return to calm, the mother pursued in the flashbacks now working at a store, reunited with her daughter. Then the woman of the house, driving a car, meets her, is reassured by her, buys some food, gets back in the car, puts the food under a blanket which is concealing Tomaz.

The film had some critical acclamation – but, the popular bloggers were not taken by it at all.