The Souvenir Part II

Joanna Hogg’s semi-autobiographical saga moves forward as her alter ego embarks on a film career.

This film finds Joanna Hogg continuing the story started in 2019 in the work that was entitled simply The Souvenir. Obviously all those involved hope that the sequel will attract both those who admired the earlier piece (many did but I was not one of them) and viewers who know nothing of its predecessor. Consequently, publicity for Part II has sought to convince us that this segment stands up perfectly well on its own. What is immediately apparent, however, is that the opening scenes carry no sense of being introductory material but play instead like a direct continuation from the point where The Souvenir left off.

That said, newcomers will nevertheless soon be able to adjust to following the second part of the story. Essentially this is a film with two themes. First, it offers a study of loss. Julie Harte (Honor Swinton Byrne) comes to terms with the death of her lover, Anthony (Tom Burke), and with the discovery of just how much he had hidden from her including the fact that he was a junkie. Secondly, with the first film having established Julie’s ambitions as a student at a film school, we now see how her work develops as graduation day approaches. These two elements become fused in that Julie abandons an earlier concept for the film that she is required to make and chooses instead to direct actors in a piece which will be based on her relationship with Anthony.

If I definitely prefer Part II to its predecessor, that is largely down to two factors that have changed. Anthony was a central character in The Souvenir and the fact that we could see so clearly how misguided it was for Julie to fall for him limited one’s sympathy for her. Those who have not seen the first film may at times feel somewhat at sea (there are early scenes here related to Anthony's acquaintances that do not explain themselves but they are brief). But, as against that, Anthony’s obvious defects affect us less here because Julie is now seen simply as a young woman coming to terms with grief and with her complex reaction to learning the full truth about Anthony. The other shift lies in the comparative absence in Part II of detailed scenes of upper-class life. Julie’s parents, admirably played by James Spencer Ashworth and by Byrne’s own mother Tilda Swinton, remain well in the picture, but the wider portrait of their lifestyle with lots of authentic but distancing upper-class chat is happily lost this time around.

Instead of the family life of the Harte family being a major emphasis, the stress is now much more on Julie’s work in the film school. This was touched on before, but becomes a prominent feature here. It is, I suspect, an aspect of the film which fascinates many of us critics for its own sake and it is certainly convincingly presented. At the same time, it does take up a lot of footage and of the many involved in helping Julie with her graduation film only two make much of an impression: there is Max (Joe Alwyn), a sympathetic gay editor and Marland (Jaygann Ayeh) who is a close friend and very supportive. Also present in these scenes is the volatile Patrick Le Mage, a director making his own film which is a musical akin to Absolute Beginners (much of the film’s comedy is centred on him and Richard Ayoade has fun with this role).

However, as before, Hogg, despite creating Julie as someone whose experiences echo her own, has given us a character who somehow fails to make us share the passion for filmmaking which she possesses. Honor Swinton Byrne continues to play the role very convincingly but there seems to be something in the writing that prevents us from identifying with her. And yet another debit lies in the self-conscious arty touches, as when the ratio changes to show us that Patrick's musical is being shot in widescreen. Furthermore, it is wholly distracting to play around with Julie's film to show us Anthony himself putting in a brief appearance although dead. There is more stylisation when her film is made to include stylised sequences modelled on the work of Powell and Pressburger. This is so self-conscious that it reminds us that it is Hogg herself who is paying them homage and consequently it feels wholly self-indulgent. So, while I see The Souvenir Part II as an improvement, I am totally unable to share what seems to be a widely held opinion that, whether it is viewed as a continuation or as a distinct entity, Hogg has given us a masterpiece.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast: Honor Swinton Byrne, Tilda Swinton, Joe Alwyn, Richard Ayoade, Charlie Heaton, James Spencer Ashworth, Jaygann Ayeh, Ariane Labed, Tom Burke, Harris Dickinson, Alice McMillan.

Dir Joanna Hogg, Pro Ed Gurney, Joanna Hogg, Andrew Lowe, Emma Norton and Luke Schiller, Screenplay Joanna Hogg, Ph David Raedeker, Pro Des Stephane Collonge, Ed Helle le Fevre, Costumes Grace Snell.

BBC Films/BFI Film Fund/Element Pictures/JWH Films/Protagonist Pictures-Picturehouse Entertainment.
107 mins. UK/USA/Ireland. 2021. US Rel: 29 October 2021. UK Rel: 4 February 2022. Cert. 15.