Magpie
Right after their daughter Matilda (Hiba Ahmed) wins a role in a film, Ben (Shazad Latif, 'Penny Dreadful's' Dr. Jeckyll) finds a leaked sex video of Alicia (Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, "Revenge"), the sexy Italian actress who will be playing Tilly's mother, and shows it to Anette (Daisy Ridley, "Young Woman and the Sea") who notes that men who do things like that should remember that woman is someone's daughter or sister. Ben merely replies that she seems to be enjoying herself, but when Annette finds his laptop full of pictures of the star and his on set chaperoning of Tilly lands him on the front page of a scandal rag as Alicia's 'mystery man,' she suspects the worst in "Magpie."
Laura's Review: B-
This is one of those movies that makes you want to watch it again as soon as it ends so that you can pinpoint just where everything changed. Unfortunately, as both the screenwriting debut of Tom Bateman, Ridley's "Murder on the Orient Express" costar and husband, and director Sam Yates, Ben's behavior is so immediately obvious, one suspects this is exactly what is going to happen, a twist ending where something which has been kept from us will be revealed when they could have played up Anette's paranoia. But after "Sometimes I Think About dying" and "Young Woman and the Sea," 2024 has been the year Daisy Ridley has stepped up and shown her breadth as an actor in three thoroughly different roles and her performance here as an overlooked wife and mother seemingly losing it is what keeps us in the film's grip.
The morning after the leaked video discussion, Annette learns as Ben prepares to leave the house with Tilly that they have no child care for their infant Lucas on the day she is to meet with her former boss Richard (Alistair Petrie, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"), clearly hoping to pick up the publishing career she's put on hold. She's forced to bring Lucas to her luncheon which begins well enough, but after Robert notices she's missing one earring and Lucas begins to scream at a pivotal moment, Annette ends up giving off a flustered mom vibe and Richard's attitude sours.
Meanwhile, PA Emily (Cherrelle Skeete) greets Ben and Tilly at the lush period location of the movie and introduces them to Alicia who leads them toward the set where shooting will take place. Along the way, three crewmen are watching and commenting on her scandalous video and Ben publicly chastises them, using his wife's words. Alicia fails to comment on the fact that Ben knew what they were watching, instead thanking him for his chivalry. At home things between Ben and Anette get chillier, he rejecting the family dinner she's prepared with a terse and entitled 'we ate on set.' The next day he'll confide in Alicia that his marriage is struggling and when she learns her scene cannot be filmed that day, she invites the father and daughter over to her place, the incident which ends up on a scandal rag's front page. Home alone again with Lucas, Anette heads to a park where she'll run into an old friend, Esther (Pippa Bennett-Warner, TV's 'Gangs of London'), who inserts her foot into her mouth by commenting that 'they're' all glad she left Ben, Anette's circle clearly aware he's a philanderer.
Yates uses a lot of glass, trapping Anette in a modern, remote country fishbowl of a house, a bathroom mirror's shattering expressing her inner turmoil. Ridley grows colder and steelier as the film progresses and it becomes more and more obvious Anette's efforts to maintain a loving family life are being ignored. Due to an unsubtle script, Latif is far too obvious, but Lutz's calming way with Tilly keeps us guessing as to where she actually stands and little Ahmed is a telling silent observer. The film belongs to Ridley and thankfully Bateman's written a killer climax that atones for showing its hand too soon.
After "The Wasp," this is Shout! Studios' second release in a row to feature a cheating British husband and a wily female performance. Hopefully they'll land another as it's an intriguing subgenre.
Robin's Review: B
When 6-year old Matilda (Hiba Ahmed) is cast in a movie as the daughter of its star, her dad, Ben (Shazad Latif), dutifully escorts her to the set every lay, leaving mom Anette (Daisy Ridley) in their isolated home to care for their newborn baby. Then, Ben shows a bit too much attention to the movie's star, Alicia (Matilda Lutz), in "Magpie."
Helmer Sam Yates and scribe Tom Bateman and their stars create a psychological thriller that deals with such concepts as isolation, loneliness, deceit and obsession. Little Matilda is thrilled to be in a movie and her co-star, Alicia, welcomes the girl with open arms, bringing Ben into her fold, too.
At home, Anette has made the hard decision to give up a successful career and be a full-time mom. Before, at least, she had her writer husband at home. Now, though, there is no relief valve and she must, alone, deal with a seemingly always crying baby, Then, suspicions begin and the always-alone Anette takes to checking Ben's cell phone. Those suspicions are confirmed.
This is where the "psychological thriller" kicks in and the weaving of the story refines, giving the viewer the chance to be in Anette's shoes. Daisy Ridley gets better every time I see her, these days, an she continues proving herself here. Her arc of character is well-defined and the ending is quite satisfying, to me,
This is Ridley's movie, but her co-stars fare well, if a little two-dimensional. Shazad Latil, as Ben, does his scheming, manipulative husband well enough. Of late, though, with femme-centric stories becoming more prominent, the guys – husbands, boyfriends – are getting more shallow and most act a lot like Ben – a real jerk . Matilda Lutz, as celebrity movie star Alicia, is almost a pretty pawn in the struggle between Anette and Ben,
Same Yates does well in separating the story in its two parts, Anette's and Ben's, that come together in the story's climax, which, as I said, was very satisfying.
Shout! Studios releases "Magpie" in theaters on 10/25/24. Click here for playdates.
