maggie-09297 Review of Waiting for You

Waiting for You (2017)

Brilliantly written, subtle cinematography, beautiful performances

[9/10 · 1 October 2018]

I was intrigued by the title and soon realised it was linked to a piece of music, which became a strong thread linking the past to the present. As a result, the flashbacks were judicially used with music as a memory driving the film forward. The film is engrossing and there are no slow spots. We follow the main character Paul (Colin Morgan) on a helter-skelter drive through Eurotunnel, away from a wintery England and into the majestic green hills and mountains of France to unravel the secret of his recently deceased father's early life. Paul's first meeting with the scarily gothic character Madame Brown (Fanny Ardant) sets the tone for a mysterious journey of discovery which set my pulse racing - at one point I couldn't look at the screen -down to excellent writing, terse editing and clever cinematography. Everyone in the cinema was holding their breath. Clean, lean and clever with great, visual performances - including Clare Holman - as Paul's mother - in the early scenes clearly delineating the background and I enjoyed the inclusion of the local girl Sylvie to act as a morale booster and a moral centre for the film. Congrats to all involved.