VESPER ** France / Lithuania / Belgium 2022 Dir: Kristina Buozyte & Bruno Samper. 114 mins
A sci-fi dystopian drama that came after the highs of horror comedy FEED ME at Grimmfest Film Festival 2022, which definitely had an affect on my viewing of this film as it felt totally flat in comparison.
Buozyte and Semper create a futuristic Earth where the ecosystem has collapsed. 13-year old Vesper cares for her father and enjoys adventuring, which is how she meets a mysterious stranger who could help her change the world.
Due to the dystopian Earth setting, the film had to feel drab. Unfortunately, they take this a little too far and it became a struggle to watch at times. This could easily have been cut down to 90 minutes.
The cgi and effects were visually pleasing, especially in comparison with the muted and grimey colour scheme.
Luckily VESPER has a strong cast, including the likes of Eddie Marsan who oozes talent. I certainly felt that he stole the attention in each scene he was in as no matter the script content, he made it interesting. It was nice to see him in a rather different role to his norm as it shows how diverse and skilled he is.
I wish I could say the same for Vesper (Raffiella Chapman) as she was a little too mousy to hold my interest for the entire film.
Review by Poppy Blundell
VESPER is out now on digital