Jodie Comer takes to The Road for some low-key indie apocalyptic drama that finds contemporary relevance and ground-level threat in a land beset by debilitating floods.
Apocalyptic movies are a dime a dozen - some more special, some more spectacular, some utterly throwaway - but when you're operating on a limited budget, you have to perhaps shoot for something more intimate, which is precisely what The End We Start From does, drawing an extension of the real-world environment changes we're all experiencing and pitching a mother and newborn into the fray.
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As seemingly endless rainfall floods London and forces millions to leave the city and seek shelter elsewhere, a young family with a newborn find refuge with their parents in the countryside, but the situation doesn't let up and only gets worse - food and supply shortages leading to rabbles, rioting and unspeakable violence, with the couple forced to make some terrible decisions just so their baby can survive.
The End We Start From almost entirely eschews conventional depictions of apocalyptic horror - even if the unseen horror is no less felt - refocussing on Jodie Comer's young mother and her reaction to the situation around her, with violence often seen only in its aftermath, the shockwaves reverberating through the movie. Enjoying an extremely authentic, organic narrative, it extrapolates upon some of the very real climate changes we are currently experiencing - the seemingly endless real-world rain and flooding suggesting this kind of narrative might not be a million years away from reality and the ensuing food and shelter scramble particularly plausible considering how frantic things got over... toilet paper.
eschews conventional depictions of apocalyptic horror
Her increasingly worn and weathered visage carries us through the feature, which is a saving grace because Joel Fry's husband can't provide much support in terms of characterisation unfortunately. More satellite, intermittent support comes from a succession of familiar faces - Mark Strong and Nina Sosanya, and later even one scene-stealing cameo that shows you perhaps how good (but also how scene-stealing) a different actor might have been in the co-lead, but this is ultimately Comer's baby, literally, and she carries it well.
There's nothing striking or remarkable on offer here, Mahalia Belo making her feature film debut here and displaying a commensurate upgrade over her previous TV and Short Film experience, working with a clearly minimal budget but cleverly keeping things functionally low-key and grounded, reminiscent a little of Casey Affleck's solid, haunting Light of My Life more than the genre-defining Children of Men, and no less recommended as a result. Come for Comer, and stay for the torturous narrative and plausible near-future apocalyptic scenario, then reconsider your boat-buying options.
The End We Start From is on Digital now and on Blu-ray 29 April, distributed by Signature Entertainment.
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