For our third round-up of films from Glasgow Film Festival 2023, we focus on a delicate and empathetic relationship drama, an ambitious but deeply flawed science fiction body-swap film, and (another) odd-couple comedy drama.
There are currently few more welcome presences in French cinema than Virginie Efira. The charming Belgian actor artfully connects the elegant melodrama Other People’s Children (Rebecca Zlotowski/ France/ 2022/ 103 mins) to humane specificity. Efira is Rachel, a 40-year-old teacher who yearns for a child of her own. When she meets and falls for Ali (Roschdy Zem), it isn’t long before she becomes something of a stepmother to Ali’s cute four-year-old daughter Leila (Carrie Ferreira-Goncalves), down to performing such maternal duties as picking the little girl up from judo classes. Muddying the waters is Ali’s amiable relationship with Leilia’s mother Alice (Chiara Mastroianni), who also seems remarkably relaxed with Rachel’s close relationship with her daughter.
Rebecca Zlotowski’s empathetic, intelligent film always engages with its gentle depiction of a woman who may be setting herself up for heartbreak, although it never really catches dramatic fire. Instead, Zlotowski trusts in the ever-sympathetic Efira, who is so good at expressing a broiling interiority that doesn’t need to be demonstrated through big gestures or grandstanding dialogue. Ali and Alice don’t feel quite as opulently drawn as Rachel, although Zem is similarly good at suggesting a casually manipulative streak in Ali beneath his passive geniality. An Impossible Love remains Efira’s high-point in the romantic drama stakes, but there’s more than enough to enjoy here, and more than enough to suggest that Zlotowski and Efira would be a fruitful team in the future. 3/5
Skin Deep (Alex Schaad/ Germany/ 2022 103 mins) is an ambitious philosophical body-swap film that fails to juggle the numerous themes and tones it hurls into the air, although it’s easy to appreciate the debut director’s boldness. Leyla (Mala Emde) and Tristan (Jonas Dassler) are a young couple who take a ferry to a remote island, where for two weeks they get to experience being in each other’s bodies, and those of the other guests. The resulting experiences prove confusing for Leyla’s sense of self and place a strain on their relationship that Tristan never realised existed.
Although it’s always easier to overlook a movie’s flaws when it tries something different and audatious, Skin Deep flounders in a bog of jumbled thematic ideas and a fumbled sense of tone. It touches on ideas of gender fluidity, body dysmorphia, and clinical depression, but never really commits to any and frequently undercuts serious intent with odd comedic moments. Beyond this some of the actors are more convincing when adopting the traits and mannerisms of characters other than their own. It’s likely it will resonate favourably with some members of the LGBTQ+ community – it’s inherently queer-coded in a variety of interesting combinations, and doesn’t shy away from depicting them – but in terms of a coherent narrative it’s a noble failure. But an undoubtedly bizarrely fascinating one, and one that inspires curiosity for what Alex Schaad does next. 2/5
The ‘troubled young woman meets grumpy oldie’ narrative strikes again in Miss Viborg (Marianne Blicher/ Denmark/ 2022/ 99 mins), but this rumbunctious depiction of femininity at its most unruly and pugnacious is a more successful exploration of the idea than others at GFF. Solvej (Ragnhild Kaasgaard) is the former beauty queen of the title, now 61-year-old, obese, and suffering from chronic mobility issues. She supplements her benefits with the sale of her plentiful supply of prescription drugs. When 18-year-old tearaway Kate (Isabella Møller Hansen) tries to break into her apartment in search of easy cash, instant mutual antipathy turns to genuine friendship.
There is little new in Miss Viborg, but it’s delightfully easy to connect with both the ailing Solvej and the combustible Kate. Theatre actress Kaasgaard is a thoroughly sympathetic presence, and the reveal of how Solvej became marginalised and excluded from society hits with unexpected force in the context of the film’s generally warm tone. Her double act with the bolshy but vulnerable Møller Hansen is beautifully realised, and it’s impossible not to beam as Kate hangs from the back of Solvej’s mobility scooter, part cheerleader, part security guard, as the elder woman heads out on her pharmaceutical rounds. The narrative loses its way slightly when the pair are separated and we’re moved away from the claustrophobic environment of Solvej’s apartment – although it does introduce another loveable character in Kristian Halken’s kind-hearted trucker Preben – and suddenly enter a third act road movie. But it does find its feet again for a surprisingly emotional reunion. Narratively slight but incredibly charming and it’s nice to see women of several generations allowed to behave badly 3/5
Other People’s Children screens on Sat 4 Mar 2023 at GFT 1 and Sun 5 Mar 2023 at GFT 2
Skin Deep screens on Sat 4 and Sun 5 Mar 2023 at Cineworld Renfrew Street – Screen 2
Miss Viborg screens on Sat 4 and Sun 5 Mar 2023 at Cineworld Renfrew Street – Screen 2