Film review: Make Up
Make Up stars Molly Windsor - Credit: Archant
Flitting between reality and fantasy with some eerie images and a strong sense of atmosphere this tale of a young girl on an empty caravan site is not too complex
Oakley’s debut feature has a marvellously creepy opening; a young girl arriving alone at a Cornish caravan site, offseason and after dark.
A single orange light offers misty illumination and it looks for all the world like a budget Overlook Hotel. Ruth (Windsor) has come to be with her boyfriend (Quinn) who works there.
But almost immediately she becomes fixated with the idea that he has been unfaithful with a girl with orange hair. She keeps seeing her and believes her to be hiding out in one of the static homes that are being fumigated.
The film flits between reality and fantasy and has some tremendously eerie images and sequences. The atmosphere and sense of place are remarkably strong, but the longer it goes on, the less sure you are that it knows exactly what all of this is meant to achieve.
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Ultimately, a lot of it is irrelevant to the film’s destination. It goes all around the static houses to complete a straightforward journey.
3/5 stars
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Directed by Claire Oakley. Starring Molly Windsor, Joseph Quinn, Stefanie Martini, Theo Marklem-Biggs, Elodie Wilton and Lisa Palfrey. In cinemas and streaming on Curzon Home Cinema. Running time: 85 mins.
