Survival of the fittest: Martin McCann
It’s easy to see why The Survivalist made Hollywood’s famed Black List for the best unproduced screenplays. In a medium that often seems starved for ideas, it’s totally unique. It takes place after an apparent apocalypse, but there’s not a zombie or CGI tidal wave in sight. It contains very little dialogue yet involves you completely in the plight of its characters and their fraught relationships with each other. And despite its sci-fi premise, it’s utterly real and earth bound.
The movie begins with an infographic that compares Earth’s resources with its population; it somehow manages to make watching two lines harrowing, as the population soars far past the resources before plunging chillingly downward. We see a man (Martin McCann, whose character is never named) dragging a nearly nude body through the woods, then burying it. His is a rough and isolated existence. He maintains a small house and farm. He bathes himself. He masturbates—graphically and onscreen. The fact that he’s looking at a photo of a comely woman, from the dead man’s things, hints at the need for human connection, but he’s not looking for it.
Instead, it finds him. An older woman (the haunting Olwen Fouere) arrives with her young daughter Milja (Mia Goth, thoroughly believable). She asks if they can take some food in exchange for goods, or stay the night. After tense, mostly worldless, negotiations, the man agrees to let them stay. As the days go on, the trio seem to be getting closer. But there’s a constant tension as none of them can trust each other.
To reveal any more would be spoiling it, but this deliberately paced film keeps you watching with its stunning, de-saturated camera work and impressive realism. The handsome McCann appears naked along with his costars, but as startling as the nudity is for mainstream cinemagoers, it’s not gratuitous. Writer/director Stephen Fingleton merely shows it because it’s of part of life, and in this intelligent and unforgettable feature, life goes on even after the world ends. (Fingleton won a "Special Jury Mention" for his direction of The Survivalist at this year's Tribeca awards ceremony.)
The Survivalist screens tomorrow, April 25 at 8:45pm at Regal Battery Park City as part of the Tribeca Film Festival.
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