Jodie Comer is mesmerizing in ‘The End We Start From’, reviewed at The Light Cinema, Wisbech

Film review: The End We Start From – seen at The Light Cinema, Wisbech

Starring: Jodie Comer, Katherine Waterston, Joel Fry, Benedict Cumberbatch, Gina McKee, Nina Sosanya and Mark Strong

Director: Mahalia Belo Run time: One hour, 41 minutes

What a start it’s been to 2024, with three great films reviewed in the Fenland Citizen already and this dystopian drama adding to the list.

Godzilla Minus One, One Life and Poor Things have already garnered great marks from this reviewer – and with Jodie Comer at her brilliant best, this movie is up there too.

The mesmerizing Comer plays an unnamed young mum who gives birth at the same time as flood waters breach the barriers of London in the near future, sparking a mad rush to leave the capital.

Also reviewed...

Emma Stone is superb in Poor Things

Heartwarming true story One Life made it hard to hold back the tears

Godzilla Minus One is a smashing take on the often-told story

The best films of 2023 and why you need to watch them

Comer and her partner, played by Joel Fry and also not given a name, rush to the country home of his parents (Nina Sosanya and Mark Strong) but things go badly wrong there and the couple and their newborn are soon on the road again.

Without giving too much of the plot away, the couple are eventually separated and Comer’s young mum teams up with another new mother, played by Katherine Waterston.

They meet in a hostel and travel to an island commune, a trip that grants us a short but impressive cameo from the wonderful Benedict Cumberbatch. Comer’s character then leaves the commune after clashing with its leader, played by Gina McKee, and sets off back to London, on her own.

The Killing Eve star puts in possibly her best film performance, her face portraying a thousand emotions as she deals with a newborn baby, a natural disaster, family tragedy, fear and danger.

I was fine with none of the cast having names, in fact didn’t even cotton on until the end, but the timeline and distance travelled were also vague, which confused a little. The ending, just like Godzilla, was also a tad twee for my liking.

But a great cast of actors, led by an effervescent yet at times sombre performance from Comer, lifts this film and makes sure it stays in the memory.

By Jeremy Ransome

Rating: 8/10