The Souvenir Part II (2021) Movie Review
Joanna Hogg is one of my favorite filmmakers working right now. She is constantly pushing the envelope and making interesting choices when it comes to her movies. The Souvenir Part II is (obviously) the sequel to The Souvenir (2019) and you really need to have seen the first movie to appreciate Part II. Hogg picks up right where she left off, with Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) mourning the sudden death of boyfriend, Anthony (Tom Burke), who was addicted to heroin. She is still in school pursuing a film degree and reeling after Anthony’s unexpected death.
It gets a little meta as she prepares her final film before graduation and tells the story of her relationship with Anthony. It’s odd to see Julie directing Garance (Ariane Labed), who is technically playing Julie, through scenarios we have witnessed in The Souvenir. The actors clearly struggle to understand the motivations of their “characters” and question why the young woman doesn’t pick up on the fact that the man is a drug addict. Julie struggles to express her naïveté on this topic and cannot articulate exactly what went on. We see her struggling to scrape together her graduation film on a low budget, dealing with fellow students and fighting with her all male academic team to do the film the way she envisions it. Hogg perfectly executes the movie within a movie premise and it feels surreal to watch events happen again but within an entirely different context.
Hogg is unique in that she doesn’t craft written dialogue, she writes a rough outline and lets her actors somewhat improv every scene. She also uses a lot of static camera shots, which somehow seem to bring more life to each scene rather than making them dull or dreary. These techniques could really backfire, but for some reason Hogg is able to utilize them to perfection. Her movies are, generally speaking, a feast for the eyes and each shot is incredibly visually stimulating and interesting.
In The Souvenir Part II Hogg intercuts scenes that advance the plot with beautiful scenes of nature accompanied by loud music that forces you to admire the beauty before you. Then there is a jarring cut where the music is gone and we are forced back into Julie’s dilemmas. I found it to be a beautiful metaphor for life. There are short moments of beauty that are usually interrupted by the more pressing problems of everyday life. This effect worked well for The Souvenir Part II as Julie attempts to navigate the heartache of losing someone she loved while simultaneously reckoning with the fact that she actually didn’t know him very well at all. There is still beauty in Julie’s life underneath the pain she is feeling which Hogg displays on screen wonderfully.
The acting is phenomenal as well. Swinton Byrne and Tilda Swinton, who plays her mother in the film as well as in real life, are wonderful and share several tender moments together. Labed is also excellent, imbuing Garcene with a zest and serenity that was fascinating to watch. Richard Ayoade steals scenes as fellow film student, Richard, who throws tantrums when he has to compromise on his vision. But he has some interactions with Julie that push her outside of her comfort zone and open her eyes to the hard truths about Anthony that she doesn’t want to accept.
In addition to the marvelous and unconventional acting performances, the quiet power of Hogg’s directing abilities comes through in each scene and will keep your eyes glued to the screen. I’m still puzzled as to how she is able to do so much with so little. The last scene of The Souvenir Part II is my favorite ending scene of any movie this year. I won’t spoil it for anyone but it surprised me in the best way and I think was a fitting way to end a movie that was so incredibly personal to Hogg. For those who might not know, these two films are autobiographical, based on a relationship Hogg had in real life in her early twenties. Knowing this makes watching the movies that much more interesting and also that much more heartbreaking. It’s fascinating to watch a woman in her fifties attempt to unravel a tumultuous event that happened to her as a young person. When things in the movie seemed inexplicable it is because they actually were inexplicable in real life.
The Souvenir Part II is such a fitting follow up to The Souvenir and adds even more to the already compelling story Hogg attempts to convey. It cements Hogg as one of the most interesting and thoughtful filmmakers working today and is a beautiful tribute to her own life.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You liked The Souvenir
2. You enjoy unconventional autobiographical stories
3. You like emotional journeys
