Pica Disorder: A psychological disorder characterized by an appetite for substances that are largely non-nutritive, such as dirt, clay, paper, or sometimes man-made objects. The term originates from the Latin word pica ("magpie"), from the concept that magpies will eat almost anything.
If you want to see someone eat a lot of inedible s***, this is the movie for you! And I jest, I imagine Pica is a horrible disorder to deal with, and would be hard on anybody, and their family, going through it. As this movie portrays so well!
Swallow, of course, is a movie much much more than just that, though.
For starters, Swallow is about Hunter (played by Haley Bennett), a young housewife who is married to Richie Conrad (Austin Stowell), a wealthy man working toward talking over his father’s company. At first it seems like Hunter has the perfect set-up with the wealth, the dream husband, new home, time to herself. The movie quickly moves away from that comfortable setting.
From the outset of the film, Hunter dresses primly, cleans the house, and prepares elaborate meals all for the moment Richie arrives home from work. It seems her entire existence is to act and look like the perfect wife for her prosperous husband.
Then, the couple finds out that Hunter is pregnant. Richie is beyond elated, but Hunter seems hesitant, almost regretful.
That’s when things get strange and disturbing in Swallow. For Hunter, life becomes a downward spiral toward a disastrous imprisonment. Richie and his high-standard parents become control-hungry leeches in Hunter’s life. Her body truly is not her own, and from her interactions with her in-laws from this moment forward, neither is the baby. When they see Hunter, they only see the baby yet to come, and Hunter becomes only a vassal from which their future is being born.
Hunter is cornered in her life, both physically inside her home, and emotionally being told what to do, how to behave and act, both by her husband and her in-laws. Feeling completely trapped in her surroundings, Hunter picks up the nasty habit of swallowing inedible undigestible objects she finds throughout her home, starting with a marble.
Thus, the Pica Disorder definition at the beginning of this review. Pregnancy has been known as a possible trigger for Pica in few people, as presented here in Swallow.
The items only get worse from there and makes the viewer cringe. Yet, Swallow makes you feel for Hunter, who can’t seem to control the urges to swallow the objects, then 'find' later on to keep as souvenirs. Ya know – what goes in must come out, right?
You can only imagine how the controlling authoritative Richie and family would handle something like her disorder if they discovered it. How they would most likely tighten their already strangling grip on Hunter’s well-being. And would that tightening actually help get rid of the disorder Hunter has recently honed and utilized as an escape from the overbearing control?
The situation becomes more severe as the Conrad family forces Hunter into therapy (used by the Conrad’s as a means to “listen in” to Hunter’s problems), hires a “live-in nurse” to basically watch her every move, and eventually plan a psychiatric hospital trip for the baby’s safety. Hunter has to fight to gain even an ounce of her life back.
Swallow’s plotline and drama spins up to a grand finale twist with a message that is powerful and meaningful, controversial to some. I believe Carlo Mirabella-Davis (first-time full-length writer/director), creator of Swallow, wanted to drive the point home at the end of the movie, and did so in dramatic fashion.
The true horror in Swallow is its high level of psychodrama and the horrors that Hunter goes through to scramble for control of her emotions, her body, and, in the end, her life. Swallow addresses heavy topics like toxic marriage, denial of self, denial of a harmful past, the damages of emotional and physical control over another human being, and one massive topic that I will leave out there for you discover for if you watch Swallow.
I did feel like that characters were shallow in how they were written, but they were well performed within their thin creation. Haley Bennett was exceptional as the lead in the horrifying situation. Beautifully shot, Swallow is as captivating as it is hard to stomach. The realization of how far Hunter’s swallowing fetish reaches is stunning and when they pan over the “collectables” that she’s retrieved after passing them, the jaw drops!
As far as the Bloody O’ Graph is concerned, Swallow scored really high in “Originality”, as I haven’t seen a movie of this nature before, and “Disturbia” scored high given the context and delivery of said context. The other fields weren't necessarily relevant. I’d be curious to hear other peoples’ feedback on this one.
It’s a tough one to get through if you are daring!
Swallow
Released: 6/5/2020
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Director: Carlo Mirabella-Davis (First full-length)
Writer: Carlo Mirabella-Davis (First full-length)
Stars:
Haley Bennett (The Magnificent Seven, The Girl on the Train)
Austin Stowell (Fantasy Island, Bridge of Spies)
Elizabeth Marvel (True Grit, Lincoln, Gifted)
David Rasche (Burn After Reading, Men in Black 3)
IMDB Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%!!
Metascore: 65 out of 100
Streamable on these Apps with subscription at time of Blog Post: Showtime
Rentable on these Apps as of this Blog posting: Microsoft Video – only if you’re on Microsoft platforms ($3.99) Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube TV, and Vudu ($12.99)
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