The Swerve takes a dark, uncomfortable look at a woman whose life is slowly spinning away from her.
Here’s our review.
(Note: For some reason the marketing is pushing this as a horror movie. It’s not a horror movie. It’s a drama.)
The Good
First and foremost: AZURA. SKYE.
I mean…wow. Skye delivers an incredible performance in the lead role of Holly. From mastering a dead-behind-the-eyes stare to Holly’s nervous tics, we know from the start this poor woman is not doing well. Skye easily displays Holly’s tailspin and descent into darkness. She conveys Holly’s ongoing mental issues with a compassion that resonates to the audience. I spent the whole movie desperately wanting to give her a hug (and then take her to therapy).
A lot of this story hurts, but perhaps nothing hurts so much as hearing Skye deliver the line, “Is it always going to be like this?” knowing how desperate she is for the answer to be “no.” To be told it won’t always be like this, that her suffering is only temporary, that there’s a better future to look forward to.
(“Yes,” her husband answers, oblivious to her pain, too wrapped up in himself to hear the truth behind the question.)
The Swerve does a great job of introducing small, would-be-insignificant conflicts that build, combine, and escalate in unexpected ways. A mouse. A trip to the grocery store. A student’s sketchbook. An apple pie. (Seriously. Apple pie has never been so dark.)
I don’t want to give anything away, so I won’t say more. But the conclusion manages to weave all the threads together in a deeply emotional, tragic tale.
The Bad
The Swerve moves at a glacially slow pace. It barely scrapes an hour and a half, but it feels like it runs for more than two.
The problem with a film that relies on a series of small, inconsequential events that ultimately turn into something bigger is that at first…you’re kind of bored.
Don’t get me wrong. In the end, I think everything came together quite powerfully. But it was definitely a struggle for me when I checked the time around 15 minutes in thinking I had watched at least 30.
The Swerve: The Bottom Line
Though it develops slowly, The Swerve succeeds in weaving a deeply emotional and tragic tale, spearheaded by the incredible acting of its lead, Azura Skye.
Rating: 8.5/10
The Swerve is available on VOD now.
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