Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Harry Wootliff
Starring: Ruth Wilson, Tom Burke, Hayley Squires, Tom
Weston-Jones
Something of a working class companion to
The Souvenir, director Harry Wootliff's True Things once again
sees a vulnerable and naïve woman taken advantage of by a charming rogue
played by Tom Burke. It's a far more conventional piece of
British realism than Joanna Hogg's film however, and like so many slices
of British realism, it's carried along by the strength of its central
performances.
The glamorous Ruth Wilson is perhaps a tad miscast as Kate, a
thirtysomething terrified of being left on the shelf. Kate seems to have
an innocence more becoming a woman half her age, but there are
suggestions that she's made her share of mistakes. She just doesn't seem
to have learned from them. She works as a benefits claims officer, a job
arranged by her best friend Alison (Hayley Squires), but she's
constantly getting in trouble for her lack of interest in the
role.
One afternoon Kate's work suddenly gets interesting when a handsome
ex-convict (Burke) walks in looking to sign on. The man, whom the film
will only refer to as "Blond", seems more interested in Kate than in
getting his payment sorted, and even asks her out to lunch. Kate
politely declines his offer, which would be in violation of her job's
rules, but she's intrigued nonetheless. Before departing, Blond tells
her she should leave the office and eat her lunch on a bench. Kate's
reaction suggests it's the first piece of advice she's received from
someone that's designed to improve her life in quite a while.
Later, when she leaves work, Kate finds Blond waiting for her. Barely
exchanging words, the two have a sexual encounter in a nearby car park,
the first of several such engagements in the coming weeks. But as Kate
falls for Blond, he begins to retreat from her advances. At one point he
borrows her car and disappears for a week, but he has a well rehearsed
routine of making Kate seem like the crazy one for questioning his
suspicious behaviour.
True Things is by no means the first movie to feature a
woman falling victim to a charming cad, but there's something
distinctively modern about Wootliff's interpretation of this age old
narrative. Like most people of her generation, Kate's life is filled
with uncertainty. She's working a job she hates because the alternative
is moving in with her overbearing parents. She's desperate to find a
soulmate but the men Alison sets her up with are obsessed with their
careers, with one guy turning down sex from Kate because they're in his
"work car," the big plonker. What's enticing about Blond is that he
doesn't seem to share any of Kate's millennial anxieties, unburdened by
the prospect of failure and disappointment. He lives a life of freedom,
but of course, it's at other people's expense.
Despite her movie star looks, Wilson fully convinces in the role of
Kate. It's a portrayal of someone with mental health issues that never
relies on any tics. Kate's frustrations are clear to see not through
Wilson's actions but how she conceals so much from the world and the
audience, turning her head away as though her character is aware of a
camera's presence and doesn't want any potential breakdown captured.
Wootliff's camera often takes up a voyeuristic placement, which adds to
our discomfort at helplessly watching Kate's manipulation at the cruel
and controlling hands of Blond. True Things isn't saying
anything new or revolutionary, but a lot of viewers of its protagonist's
generation may find it uncomfortably representative of their lot in
life.
True Things is on MUBI UK
now.
