Couple in a Hole
A mysterious study in the devastating power of loss
Taking its cue from its title – which manages to be both metaphorical and resolutely literal – Belgian writer-director Tom Geens’ latest feature follows married British couple John (Paul Higgins) and Karen (Kate Dickie) as they scratch out their meagre existence in a hole beneath a dead tree in the French countryside. As we learn that their self-imposed exile from civilisation is in response to the untimely death of their child, what unfolds is a strange and occasionally moving study of grief and the different forms it can take.
That the film holds the attention in its methodically slow beginning is thanks largely to Sam Care’s beautiful photography of the French woodlands and Kate Dickie’s semi-feral performance as a grieving mother. Details and backstory are parcelled out just often enough to make the film feel like a mystery in its earlier stages, and despite an unconvincing finale the film stands as a memorable example of the devastating power of loss.
Couple in a Hole screened at Glasgow Film Festival, and will be released in the UK 8 Apr by Verve Pictures
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