Little White Lies - 03.2020 - 04.2020

or those that don’t know, a whalebone box is “a box made of whale

bones”, as director Andrew Kötting helpfully explains in his film,

The Whalebone Box. Described in turn as a black box, Pandora’s box, a

coffin and a bomb – at one point it’s a “record of what went wrong ” – it is

a suitably inscrutable object for the filmmaker to obsess over: a mystery

box with contents that must forever remain unknown.

Setting off with two kindred spirits, writer and psychogeographer Iain

Sinclair and photographer Anonymous Bosch, Kötting takes his box on a

“800 mile reverse pilgrimage” from London back to the Isle of Harris, the

site where the whale it was made from first washed up. It’s a shame, then,

given the possibilities offered by such an enticing, open-ended conceit,

that the resulting film is a little lacklustre. It’s a “jaunt-themed” journey

film of the type Kötting is well known for, and despite early promise, it

proves a little tedious by its end.

Some of the sights captured on crackly Super 8 film are sublime,

but a lot of it feels like filler too. Sinclair’s accompanying witterings are

somehow both erudite and irritating; attempts to decipher what he’s

on about quickly starts to feel like a chore. Quotations taken from a

smattering of sources are interspersed with cut-up film clips and remixed

music, which all add interest, but it all seems a bit of a jumble, each added

element evaporating before there is time for it to be absorbed.

Most rewarding are the moments featuring Kötting ’s daughter Eden –

often involved in his films and given a leading role here. Dressed in various

eclectic costumes, she acts like a spiritual guide for the journeymen,

helping them take the whale home while making sure they appreciate

their discoveries along the way. Her scenes have a levity about them,

conjuring the sense of love, for family, friends and filmmaking, that the

best of Kötting ’s work evokes. MATT TURNER

ANTICIPATION. A new journey film from an artist with

a big imagination and an idiosyncratic set of interests.

ENJOYMENT. Just three lads walking the length

of the country, with a whalebone box in tow.

IN RETROSPECT. Loose, languorous, and a bit laborious,

this journey feels a bit indulgent after all.

ew young couples trying to get on the property ladder will have a

worse time than Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg in Lorcan

Finnegan’s Vivarium. A hefty dose of post-millennial malaise is filtered into

conventional family life as the duo are plunged into a hellish suburbia that

makes the headaches of mortgages and deposits seem like bliss.

Finnegan swiftly tees up the nightmare as first-time buyers Tom

(Eisenberg) and Gemma (Poots) meet Martin, a twitching, oddball estate

agent played by Jonathan Aris. When he vanishes, they are trapped in a

labyrinthine housing development named Yonder and tasked with raising

a baby-like creature dumped on their doorstep. In critiquing the monotony

of a life many couples crave, much of the film’s disquiet is amplifed by the

throbs of Kristian Eidnes Andersen’s reverb-heavy score. Likewise the

muted pastels of Philip Murphy’s production design neatly craft a grim,

supersized toy-town that’s the last place you’d want to play happy families.

And while that may sound eminently bleak, Finnegan and co-writer

Garret Shanley do find room for some black comedy. Eisenberg, who spends

most of the film digging up the front lawn, is more rough-around-the-edges

than previously seen and capably handles some of the more deadpan

punchlines. Yet while his character remains thin, Poots comes into her own

and shows real range as the reluctant mother of a child who is both kooky

and creepy. Just when Vivarium appears to run out of steam, it turns away

from the daily grind to embrace body horror and sci-fi mind-bending, all

held together by its female lead.

In presenting this cynical parable, many of the visual metaphors

are certainly on-the-nose. Look no further than the opening scene of a

nest making cuckoo bird, for example. Yet there is a pleasure in the film’s

bluntness that is undeniably effective and makes you see that Yonder may

be closer to home than you might realise. MAX COPEMAN

ANTICIPATION. Imogen Poots starring in a low-key

favourite from Sundance definitely whets the appetite. 

ENJOYMENT.

Maybe renting isn’t so bad after all?

IN RETROSPECT.

A gloomy yet precise parable.

Vivarium

Directed by LORCAN FINNEGAN

Starring JESSE EISENBERG, IMOGEN POOTS,

JONATHAN ARIS

Released 27 MARCH

F

The Whalebone Box

Directed by ANDREW KÖTTING

Starring EDEN KÖTTING, IAIN SINCLAIR, PHILIP HOARE

Released 4 APRIL

F

REVIEW 067