HOT MILK, the directorial debut of Rebecca Lenkiewicz (whose previous writing credits include SHE SAID and Steve McQueen’s SMALL AXE films), is meandering and enigmatic, much like its lead character. Emma Mackey is an engaging screen presence that keeps the film more or less on track in her lead role, but the lack of narrative direction leaves her character, Sofia, and the film to languish in the hot Spanish sun.
Sofia (Mackey) has travelled to southern Spain with her Irish mother, Rose (Fiona Shaw). Rose has mortgaged her home to pay for treatment towards an alarming number of ailments, all or some of which may be psychosomatic, with a ‘specialist’, Gomez (Vincent Perez). Gomez’s medical credentials are notably absent, so while his bona fides are muddy, Rose’s overbearing presence in her daughter’s life is crystal clear. Sofia strikes up a slightly tempestuous romantic connection with Ingrid (Vicky Krieps), and visits her erstwhile father in Greece as she slowly attempts to emerge from her frustration and her mother’s shadow into the unforgiving sunlight (shot so evocatively here by Si Bell and Christopher Blauvelt).
Lenkiewicz – directing from her own script, adapting Deborah Levy’s novel – has a patient approach to building the dynamic between Sofia and Rose. In her first scenes, Rose almost seems empowered, observing “there’s a reason the man is called the groom” and admonishing a man on the beach for rifling through his absent female partner’s handbag. However, as we establish the duo more, Sofia’s reserve comes through as an inhibition; a personality tamped down by the co-dependent relationship with her cynical, guarded mother and the unthinking micro-belittlements the older woman lets slip.
Lenkiewicz takes time to establish an atmosphere for Sofia that is just short of suffocating. As she walks down the street, a man leers at her with “Hola, guapa”. Gomez – clearly suspicious of the legitimacy of many of Rose’s ailments – frequently enquires about Sofia’s life and Rose’s role within it. On top of this, the otherwise liberating relationship with Ingrid is subject to the whims of Ingrid’s more fluid and non-monogamous sexual desires.
“Lenkiewicz takes time to establish an atmosphere for Sofia that is just short of suffocating. […] This aura builds to an excellent sequence showing how Sofia finally bubbles over with frustration”
This aura builds to an excellent sequence showing how Sofia finally bubbles over with frustration at their landlord and his endlessly barking dog. The hectoring performance of Fiona Shaw, the shot choices of the claustrophobic house interior, the editing (from Mark Towns, whose previous outing was LOVE LIES BLEEDING), and sound all combine to a cathartic outburst. This moment also signals the first of a few where Mackey’s shackles are thrown off and she can display the charisma that made her such a memorable presence in Sex Education.
However, the film’s narrative direction is unclear; a quality best demonstrated by the relationship with Ingrid. Her romantic role in generating sexual tension is obvious, but neither the script, visuals, nor performance explains why Sofia seeks expression and release here, of all places. The greater dialogue and vocal expression for Mackey in their scenes make the effect of the relationship on Sofia’s demeanour apparent, but the motivation remains obscured. In particular, Krieps’ skill as an actor, observed in PHANTOM THREAD and CORSAGE, seems wasted or miscast here. Ingrid mostly dribbles out cod philosophical notions and a forced Bohemianism until another humorously cathartic eruption by Sofia punctures Ingrid’s supposed whimsy.
“However, the film’s narrative direction is unclear […] until the story has meandered, lingered and pondered for a little too long”
The film begins to find a more compelling through line centred on Sofia taking back some control in her family relationships, but not until the story has meandered, lingered and pondered for a little too long.
The novel’s title alludes to the curdling of the maternal relationship in the heat of the locale and Sofia and Rose’s dynamic. The film metaphorically suffers from a similar problem – it sets the scene well, but as the sun beats down, the impact of those initially interesting characters, motivations and dynamics are bleached out of HOT MILK.