Earwig main backdrop
Earwig main poster

5.7/10 • 60

2022-06-151h 54m

DramaFantasyHorror

Somewhere in Europe, mid-20th century. Albert is employed to look after Mia, a girl with teeth of ice. Mia never leaves their apartment, where the shutters are always closed. The telephone rings regularly and the Master enquires after Mia's wellbeing. Until the day Albert is instructed that he must prepare the child to leave.

Directors
Lucile Hadžihalilović
Editors
Adam Finch

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Paul Hilton

    Paul Hilton

    Albert Scellinc

  2. Romola Garai

    Romola Garai

    Céleste

  3. Alex Lawther

    Alex Lawther

    Laurence

  4. Martin Verset

    Martin Verset

    Young Albert Scellinc

  5. Romane Hemelaers

    Romane Hemelaers

    Mia

  6. Peter van den Begin

    Peter van den Begin

    The Stranger

  7. Anastasia Robin

    Anastasia Robin

    Marie Scellinc

  8. Marie Bos

    Marie Bos

    The Receptionist

  9. Isabelle De Hertogh

    Isabelle De Hertogh

    The Concierge

Reviews2

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jun 18, 2022

5/10

What ever you do, don't have lunch immediately before you watch this. I made that mistake and a combination of pasta, a comfortable seat in a dark and warm cinema and the glacially slow nature of the story here made it nigh on impossible for me to keep my eyes open. From the outset, I struggled to correlate the title with any aspect of the plot as it unfolded (I think) before me. "Mia" (Ramane Hemelaers) is a young girl living in a shuttered-up house with little furniture. Her only companion is her carer "Scellinc" (Paul Hilton) who looks after her, and more importantly (and confusingly) her teeth. This rather mundane routine continues, interrupted only by their housekeeper and the occasional calls from their "masters". It is when one such call indicates that it is time for "Mia" to leave and travel to meet them that the story begins to intertwine with a parallel thread in which "Céleste" (Ramola Garai) - whom we know was involved in a nasty altercation with "Scellinc" in a bar that left her face disfigured - is travelling on the same train with her benefactor "Laurence" (Alex Lawther) who keeps her regularly supplied with laudanum to ease the pain. To say that the whole thing is surreal would be an understatement, and I - quite frankly - have no real idea what the last twenty minutes are meant to convey. There is a warning about gore with this film, but right til the very end I didn't spot any, and even then it was hardly shocking - indeed the whole film was just a pedestrian drama that left me pondering what it was really about, and for whom it was made. The photography looks good, though - plenty of attention to the detail of the overall aesthetic makes for a classy looking production but there is a real acuity of dialogue to help guide us along and I am afraid after very nearly two hours I really wasn't any the wiser.

Media

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  • Earwig poster
  • Earwig poster
  • Earwig poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
thoughtfulanxiousambivalentcomplicatedenchant