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Mari 12 rating

Modern dance is an evocative narrative tool in Georgia Parris’ debut, which investigates a young woman’s identity and the complex relationship she has with her mother and sister.

Drama 2018 95 mins

Director: Georgia Parris

Overview

Charlotte (played by contemporary dancer Bobbi Jene Smith, the subject of 2017 documentary Bobbi Jene) is rehearsing a show with her dance company when she learns her beloved grandmother Mari is dying. At Mari’s beside with her mother and sister, fractious family resentments surface. Charlotte also struggles to process the news that she’s pregnant and the inherent implications for her work.

As in her award-winning short films, Georgia Parris seamlessly weaves dance into her storytelling – stunning sequences with Bobbi Jene punctuating the drama like a chorus expanding on a narrative. In this hugely impressive micro-budget debut, Parris prods beneath the surface of a particular English middle-class reserve – Joanna Hogg’s work a reference point here – with Sherborne locations creating a vivid sense of place.