Morvern Callar

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Morvern Callar ★★½ 2002

A young woman (Morton) wakes on Christmas morning to find her boyfriend's body, wrists slashed, beside her bed. His legacy is a personalized compilation tape, his cash card, and a novel he's written for her, complete with publishers to send it to. After she dismembers and disposes of his body, replaces his name on the manuscript with her own and sends it off to a publisher (who buys it), she goes off on a holiday to Spain with her sex and drug crazed girlfriend (McDermott). Morvern's emotions are revealed through the lyrics of the compilation tape constantly pounding through her headphones. Morton, known for other speech-challenged roles in “Sweet and Low Down” (mute girlfriend) and “Minority Report” (precognitive psychic) has become adept at making passivity riveting. Ramsey's second film, based on a novel by Alan Warner, is a moody beauty that's not altogether gratifying. 97m/C VHS, DVD . GB CA Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott; D: Lynne Ramsay; W: Lynne Ramsay, Liana Dognini; C: Alwin Kuchler.