SWALLOW
Much to the concern of her upper-crust husband and in-laws, a young housewife develops a taste for inanimate objects in this dark, clever feminist comedy.
The wildly inventive and stomach-churning Swallow, from first-time narrative filmmaker Carlo Mirabella-Davia, has its sights set on the established patriarchy and the oozing toxic masculinity that permeates our culture. Within the confines of an immaculately decorated midcentury home in upstate New York, the always dolled-up Hunter (Haley Bennett, in a star-making turn) tends to her successful husband’s every whim. When she isn’t deflecting passive-aggressive barbs from her mother-in-law (Elisabeth Marvel), the meek Hunter spends her days playing soulless games on her iPhone or preparing another lavish meal. But when her curiosity to consume a decorative marble awakens an unfulfilled need to do something unexpected, she begins down a path that is equally liberating and dangerous. As the small, passed objects quickly amass on her bedside table, Hunter’s newfound independence faces a threat in the form of her insufferable husband Richie (Austin Stowell). What begins as a satirical farce about the elite’s status-obsessed lifestyle and antiquated gender roles morphs into an empowering and compassionate story of a woman’s journey to freedom, anchored by the always surprising and committed performance by the phenomenal Bennett.
CAST: HALEY BENNETT, AUSTIN STOWELL, ELIZABETH MARVEL, DAVID RASCHE
In Competition: First Feature Award
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