Cambridge Film Festival 2023: Film #1
It feels mean to be tough on this fictionalised biopic as it's very clearly made with love for forgotten British artist Audrey Amiss (1933—2013), but the film sets itself a very hard challenge for itself by attempting to depict mental health episodes on-screen (oof…), be a "British road movie" (almost a contradiction in terms), a hard-hitting family drama, a critique of mental health care provision in the UK in addition to being a feel-good comedy. Curiously, the supernatural elements actually assist in melding these elements together, but it was always going to be a little tough for it to all come together. Reminded me a lot of Ali Smith's Autumn (2016), not least in the way Smith's book is, amongst other things, an attempt to bestir interest in another neglected woman artist, Pauline Boty.
Synopsis: In a last-ditch mission to get recognition for her talent, Audrey Amiss (Monica Dolan) persuades her psychiatric nurse, Sandra Panza (Kelly Macdonald) to take her on a road trip back to where her story began – but with so many deviations along the way, will they ever make it?