Miss Flicks

The End We Start From: Film Review

Jodie Comer delivers a stellar performance every single time she’s on screen so it’s no surprise she’s superb in Mahalia Belo‘s feature directorial debut, The End We Start From.

When London and low-lying parts of the UK are hit by flooding, a mother (Comer), her husband (Joel Fry) and their newborn baby Zeb have to find somewhere else to live. After they become separated amid the civil unrest, the mother and her baby have to learn how to survive for months before they can make their way back home.

The End We Start From takes the overwhelming, life-changing experience of new motherhood and magnifies it by thrusting the mother into a survival situation. The environmental crisis is nationwide but we don’t really see that – we view the pandemic through their eyes. We get a sense of what’s happening – the scarcity of food, people fighting to get to higher land – but it’s very much told on a micro scale.

Even when the story loses its momentum, Comer maintains our attention because her performance is just so raw, real and vulnerable. She gets tested by so many obstacles but has the strength and resolve to keep on going for the sake of her boy.

There are people along the way who give her an adult to speak to (and some much-needed conversation for us), particularly Katherine Waterston as another new mum who becomes her lifeline and surrogate family. There are also small appearances from Benedict Cumberbatch, Gina McKee and Mark Strong.

While the story was occasionally a bit slow and the conclusion was too brief, The End We Start From told a poignant tale of motherhood and featured a stunning performance from Comer.

Originally seen at the London Film Festival. In cinemas from Friday 19th January

You can read my interview with Mahalia Belo about the movie here.