A sequel to the critically lauded The Souvenir, the aptly named The Souvenir Part II carries on Joanna Hogg’s semi-autobiographical tale of her life in film school and finding her voice as an artist. Honor Swinton Byrne returns as Hogg’s cypher, Julie, still reeling from losing her boyfriend (played by Tom Burke) – a heroin addict who fed her lies before killing himself.
In a bid to work through her grief, Julie makes her graduation film about that relationship. This involves her finding her feet as a director, knowing where to place the camera and dealing with the stresses and strains of production. The fact that her mum, played again by Tilda Swinton, can casually stump up £10,000 to pay for it makes matters less difficult.
There’s no doubt these films are personal for Hogg, but they veer on self-indulgent, parodic and infuriating. Like most of her films, we see financially comfortable people indulge in navel-gazing and despite strong acting, immersion and the occasional meta moment, these Souvenirs remain cold and distant.
The graduation film is pompous, overblown and watched by an adoring upper-class audience – bang on, no doubt, but in today’s atmosphere of diverse representation in the arts illustrates the privilege of the past and the present. It’s hard to like anyone. Richard Ayoade adds a dose of fun as a ridiculously intense director, but otherwise, The Souvenir: Part II is a bafflingly turgid affair that wrestles with creativity and examines a painful moment in life and a rebirth with low-key intensity.
Dir: Joanna Hogg (15) (107 mins)
Released in cinemas on Fri 4 Feb
words KEIRON SELF
