UK

Synopsis

Morvern Callar is a 21 year-old supermarket worker from a small port town in the west of Scotland. Morvern believes that life is something you get on with as best you can with what you´ve got. One morning Morvern finds what she´s got is a dead boyfriend on the kitchen floor...

Director's Statement

When Morvern's boyfriend kills himself it is a romantic gesture in search of posthumous fame. He wants his novel to be published, and for him to be remembered for his life's work. But Morvern defies all conventional expectations. She appropriates his novel and sells it as her own. She doesn't care for fame. To her this is just a pragmatic means to escape the mundanity of her life. This is for me what makes her character so contemporary.
Does it matter who wrote the novel?
Is it worth more to a dead person than to someone trying to live life the best they can?

Director's Biography

Lynne Ramsay graduated from the National Film & Television School in 1995. She won the Cannes Prix de Jury the following year for her graduation film, Small Deaths. Her second short film, Kill the Day, won the Clermont Ferrand Prix du Jury and her third short, Gasman, made the same year, won Ramsay her second Cannes Prix du Jury as well as a Scottish BAFTA for Best Short Film.
With her debut feature Ratcatcher, Ramsay continued to win critical acclaim and awards around the world. Ratcatcher screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes and went on to open the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where Ramsay received the Guardian New Directors prize. She also won the Carl Foreman Award for Newcomer in British Film at the 2000 BAFTA Awards, the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival and the Silver Hugo for Best Director at the Chicago International Film Festival.
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Lynne Ramsay

Written by: Lynne Ramsay, Liana Dognini

Produced by: Robyn Slovo, Charles Pattinson, George Faber

Cinematography: Alwin Küchler

Editing: Lucia Zucchetti

Production Design: Jane Morton

Costume Design: Sarah Blenkinsop

Make-Up & Hair: Trefor Proud

Sound Design: Paul Davies

Cast: Dan Cadan (Dazzer ), Samantha Morton (Morvern Callar), Carolyn Calder (Sheila Tequila ), Kathleen McDermott (Lanna), Ruby Milton (Couris Jean ), Dolly Wells (Susan)

Nominations and Awards

  • European Actress 2002
  • European Cinematographer – Prix Carlo Di Palma 2002
  • Feature Film Selection 2002