The End We Start From
Year: 2024
Director: Mahalia Belo
Starring: Jodie Comer, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Fry, Mark Strong & Katherine Waterston
Runtime: 101 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 30/01/24
Director: Mahalia Belo
Starring: Jodie Comer, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Fry, Mark Strong & Katherine Waterston
Runtime: 101 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 30/01/24
You’d think a country as prone to flooding as the United Kingdom would put more precautions in place to reduce or even entirely stop the possibility of significant flood damage in its highest risk areas. It’s a really wet country, and one with such uneven terrain that water often pools in the same areas, some of which are inhabited. Particularly in recent years the effects of climate change have certainly been felt with progressively worse flooding in particular areas of the country. But much like all climate warnings, it seems to fall on deaf ears to the people who are actually able to do make the necessary changes. That’s what makes The End We Start From such a harrowing experience, not because it preaches or shocks, but because it shows us exactly what’s already happening.
When an expectant mother (Jodie Comer) gives birth in the middle of a terrible flood that sinks London; she, her new baby, and her husband (Joel Fry) journey north to higher ground. But as time draws on and the waters show no signs of receding, humanity reverts to its most basic instincts to survive.
The End We Start From feels strikingly real in its depiction of a natural disaster in England. There isn’t many weather phenomenon that the country experiences and so the only thing we are ever truly at threat from is flooding. A flood is slow, its quiet, and often you don’t realise how severe it is until it’s too late. That’s what makes it dangerous, and that’s what director Mahalia Belo understands. It’s brought up a few times throughout the film that everybody saw this coming, but everybody chose to ignore it because it wasn’t happening at that moment. That’s a lot of what makes the film so terrifying is that it could have all been prevented, but people ignored the warnings.
Despite not being a horror film there are a few genuinely frightening scenes that are so nerve-wracking and tense. Some unwanted visitors in the middle of the night whilst Comer’s character is alone with the baby; and an attack on a shelter by armed assailants.
When an expectant mother (Jodie Comer) gives birth in the middle of a terrible flood that sinks London; she, her new baby, and her husband (Joel Fry) journey north to higher ground. But as time draws on and the waters show no signs of receding, humanity reverts to its most basic instincts to survive.
The End We Start From feels strikingly real in its depiction of a natural disaster in England. There isn’t many weather phenomenon that the country experiences and so the only thing we are ever truly at threat from is flooding. A flood is slow, its quiet, and often you don’t realise how severe it is until it’s too late. That’s what makes it dangerous, and that’s what director Mahalia Belo understands. It’s brought up a few times throughout the film that everybody saw this coming, but everybody chose to ignore it because it wasn’t happening at that moment. That’s a lot of what makes the film so terrifying is that it could have all been prevented, but people ignored the warnings.
Despite not being a horror film there are a few genuinely frightening scenes that are so nerve-wracking and tense. Some unwanted visitors in the middle of the night whilst Comer’s character is alone with the baby; and an attack on a shelter by armed assailants.
Comer is great here, and whilst the supporting cast of Fry, Mark Strong, and Katherine Waterston (as well as a handful of others) are also good, the focus is so fixated on Comer that nobody else ever gets a moment to truly shine. That’s probably my biggest issue with the film, that the supporting cast are so superficial that you never get to understand them. This is perhaps most obvious when Comer’s character arrives at an island commune late in the film. Gina McKee is the leader of this community, and she keeps going on about how each person is a vital part of its function, and so that’s why Comer’s character must stay. But we don’t actually meet any of the other members of the commune directly, and even this interaction where McKee’s character is trying to stop Comer’s from leaving the island was the first time McKee’s character had said more than a couple of words. The film doesn’t exactly need big characters and lots of explanation as to who’s who and why, but it does make scenes like the aforementioned commune feel a bit odd because we know absolutely nothing about this place because we haven’t actually met anybody who lives there despite Comer’s character seemingly having been there for an extended period of time.
The ending was a little too optimistic for my liking too. Whilst I was certainly glad of a happier ending after such a dreary story, but it feels a little too convenient, and I don’t feel it’s an accurate representation of how that kind of scenario would actually play out.
What I enjoyed most was the way the disaster itself is portrayed, and the way the characters react to it. That’s what made The End We Start From so enjoyable for me. I would certainly have liked some more detailed supporting characters, but for a low budget independent British drama I feel like I got what I wanted. There are moments in this film that I won’t be forgetting in a hurry, and whilst I wouldn’t say you need to rush to see this on the big screen, I’d still recommend checking it out.
The ending was a little too optimistic for my liking too. Whilst I was certainly glad of a happier ending after such a dreary story, but it feels a little too convenient, and I don’t feel it’s an accurate representation of how that kind of scenario would actually play out.
What I enjoyed most was the way the disaster itself is portrayed, and the way the characters react to it. That’s what made The End We Start From so enjoyable for me. I would certainly have liked some more detailed supporting characters, but for a low budget independent British drama I feel like I got what I wanted. There are moments in this film that I won’t be forgetting in a hurry, and whilst I wouldn’t say you need to rush to see this on the big screen, I’d still recommend checking it out.