Queen at Sea
Viewer Advice: Contains themes of sexual violence
Juliette Binoche and Tom Courtenay star in this unflinchingly knotty drama about a woman and her stepfather at odds over her dementia-stricken mother.
Recently divorced academic Amanda (played by fearless screen icon Juliette Binoche) has relocated to London to be closer to her mother, Leslie, who has advanced dementia. While checking on Leslie one day, Amanda walks in on her and her stepfather, Martin, having sex, despite recent medical advice stating that Leslie is no longer able to give meaningful consent. Furious, Amanda calls the police, setting in motion a chain of processes that completely upends their lives – and especially Martin’s role as Leslie’s carer – leaving Amanda to question her decision.
Delicately complex and staunchly humanist, this is the first feature in 18 years by writer/director Lance Hammer, whose debut, Ballast (MIFF 2008), collected a slew of accolades across the global festival circuit. While thematically adjacent to – and equally as shattering as – films like The Father and Amour (MIFF 2012), Queen at Sea stands out for its exploration of disorienting ethical puzzles related to familial responsibility and elder autonomy, plus the lingering taboo around later-in-life sexuality. For their exceptional performances as Martin and Leslie, Tom Courtenay and Anna Calder-Marshall shared the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance.
“Navigating such thorny topics as consent and autonomy in the throes of dementia, the film is relentless in its exploration of impossible-to-answer questions, and uses, as its vessel, three sensational performers who make its drama both luminous and entirely devastating.” – Variety
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