No. 66 (2022) EDWARD AND ISABELLA August 2nd.

 

Film No. 66 (2022)  August  2nd.  6.45 PM   Cinema 5.  LUNA,  Leederville.

 

"I want to know if I want to get out." Isabella discusses  her reasoning for taking a trip away with Edward with a faceless councillor.

A writer/director better be "on their mettle" if they decide to risk their artistic integrity and use their worldly fortune ($15,000) to make a feature film (and an intimate love story at that!). Rookie feature writer/director Adam Morris has poured passion and resource into EDWARD AND ISABELLA and while I have some minor reservations about the film, overall I found it captivating.

Script and cast are key to why Edward and Isabella held me in its spell. The audience is taken on a journey that will ring true for so many. Many of us have fallen in love and, if that love is of the head-over heels variety, questions about self worth can arise. Will the slightly irritating aspects of your partner grow to be an unbearable burden? Morris gently leads us without fear or favour.    

We meet Edward and Isabella as they share time together on holiday in the beautiful surrounds of Albany, Western Australia. They're in love but have reservations. We learn more of their feelings (mainly Isabella's) for one another via interludes of conversations they have with their counsellor  prior to going on holiday (strangely, they share the same counsellor), he's faceless and appears in the credits as simply The Dr. For me, these static, mostly wooden scenes were the only "potholes" in an otherwise meaty script. 

Then there is the lovely pickled eggs scene. No words are spoken. Both love-birds work as one to fill the jar. Is this the cornerstone scene that cements a fulfilling relationship?   

My understanding is, Morris couldn't believe his luck when Chloe Hurst answered a facebook post as he began his casting process. Hurst happened to be back from her usual base of Los Angeles, staying with family in COVID safe Western Australia.  She was looking for artistic stimulation. Morris's script appealed and Chloe said "pick me". It's Isabella who carries this film. Her character has the most to gain and lose in this relationship. The casting of Hurst was a masterstroke.  The chemistry she generates with Daniel Barwick (Edward) is full of legitimate appeal. Film lovers on the lookout for new and stimulating thought journeys should seek out EDWARD AND ISABELLA.  9GUMS