Welcome to another edition of the “The Valero Verdict” movie review. In this I will give you a quick movie review with a couple of bullet points of which I either liked or disliked. I will end the review with rating of the movie and a short overall thoughts.

On the docket today, the Haley Bennett led drama, Swallow.

photo courtesy of IFC

Plot: Hunter, a newly pregnant housewife, finds herself increasingly compelled to consume dangerous objects. As her husband and his family tighten their control over her life, she must confront the dark secret behind her new obsession.

The movie tells the story of a woman who is alone in her marriage. She is married to a rich man (Richie) who cares more about his job than his wife (Hunter). So in the meantime, Hunter starts swallowing unexpected items, which come to find out isn’t as crazy as it seems.

After Richie finds out that she has this infatuation with swallowing things, he hires a live-in nurse to keep an eye on her. As we continue to learn more about Hunter and her past, we realize that this swallowing inflation is just a coping mechanism.

Although the film suffers from a rough start Carlo Mirabella-Davis’s writing makes up for it with a beautifully layered second and third act. He did what any smart director would do and wrote to make Hunter the star of the show. He did a perfect job of making you invest in her from the moment she was on the screen.

Speaking of Hunter, this was the Haley Bennett show. She gave us an emotionally riveting performance that truly transforms throughout each act. What seemed at first like a quirky random act turns into a broken person not sure how to process her emotions.

While at a brisk hour and thirty-four minutes, the film truly felt like it was a bit longer than that. I think if they would’ve picked up the pace a little in that first act it would’ve made for a crisper film as a whole. I understood the final sequence of the film but I just didn’t like how it ended. I wasn’t as satisfied as I thought I was going to be during the end.

I hope everyone overcomes the slow start because they will see a film that comes together rather nicely. Between the powerful performance from Bennett and the superb writing of the second and the third act, ‘Swallow’ is a film that everyone should check out.

The Verdict: **** out of ***** gavels

“Haley Bennett delights in one of the years best films.“

Award Potential: Best Actress

Should You See It?: Yes. The film is very good and would rank this highly among the movies available to rent right now. It has an amazing performance in it and a story that comes together well.

AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AND THROUGH DIGITAL PLATFORMS



Digital Platforms: iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay/YouTube, Vudu, PlayStation

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