Queen At Sea film review: Intelligent and sensitive
A tough subject is brilliantly handled and beautifully performed in a work that displays cinema at its most potent
If you’re a fan of films that take on the trickiest of topics, then Queen At Sea is for you. This fearless, absolutely captivating feature from US director Lance Hammer (belatedly following up his well-received 2008 debut Ballast) digs into one of the most difficult aspects of dementia, and explores it in an empathetic yet forensic fashion. The film follows Juliette Binoche’s academic Amanda whose elderly mother Leslie (Anna Calder-Marshall) is living with advanced dementia. At the outset, Amanda walks in on her stepfather Martin (Tom Courtenay) having sex with Leslie, despite him previously being warned by his wife’s GP that she is no longer capable of consent. Martin, who is a gentle and loving husband otherwise, is completely committed to caring for his wife but is struggling to do so safely.
Trying to wake Martin up to the situation, Amanda calls the police, but the decision backfires and social services get involved too. We see how Amanda’s entanglement in this highly stressful situation impacts on her career and homelife (she has temporarily relocated to keep an eye on things), including her ability to look out for her teenage daughter Sara (Florence Hunt) who has similarly been uprooted and is dealing with her parents’ divorce.
Hammer’s intelligent and extremely sensitive script considers every conceivable angle of this awful predicament and the performances are quite simply astonishing. Calder-Marshall and Courtenay shared the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance at this year’s Berlinale, and should attract further awards attention. Binoche is rivetingly conflicted at the centre, making you feel every ounce of Amanda’s agony. The film elevates a fairly grim, real-world issue to something worthy of big-screen scrutiny, holding our interest and seeking to enhance understanding, without ever telling us what to think. This is what cinema should do.
Queen At Sea is in cinemas from Friday 18 September.