Ashes of Time

She Will (2022) was another library selection. We've been getting a couple of these a week - I bring home 6-10, and Mrs. Spenser chooses one or two.

She Will stars Alice Krige as an older actress, going on a healing retreat in Scotland along with her nurse and companion Kota Eberhardt. The opening is a train going through deep forests, a now-classic drone shot. Krige arrives at the retreat and is horrified that it is not a solitary retreat, but instead kicks off with a cocktail party full of mystics, holistic medicine fans, pseudo-intellectuals, etc. Some of them don't recognize her, some recognize her as washed up, some are "big fans". When she flees, they all talk about her behind her back. 

At least she has a private cottage with Eberhardt - pretty rundown and dirty, but at least private. We see what the other guests are up to - led by Rupert Everett - including crystals and interpretive dance. I would be pretty happy to get away from that too. But there is something in the black mud everywhere. We find out that it is the ashes of the thousands of witches burned here. As the film goes on, the ashes even show up n the air as a sort of black snow.

For most of this movie, nothing "happens". There is a ton of beautiful cinematography, and some acting mournful by Krige - and acting bemused (maybe?) by Eberhardt. We see Krige staring at herself in the mirror, eventually nude so that we can see that she has had a double mastectomy. That explains the nurse.

In the last act, the "plot" shows up. When Krige was a child actor, she made a big movie directed by Malcolm McDowell. She was molested by him as well. Now, he is remaking that movie, with a new child actor. But she can pay him back - in dreams, with witchcraft (SPOILER).

This is the first feature for director Charlotte Colbert, and certainly an interesting one. It is beautiful and moody, but light on substance. The substance it does have seems disjointed - what are we to make of the retreat, the mud, the ashes. witchcraft? Is the retreat silly and shoddy, or deeply meaningful? Is the mud gross and yucky or empowering? Or are these contradictions the whole point? I tend towards: it's a bit of a muddle that goes off vibes, not consistency. Maybe that's the point, or maybe I just missed it.

Whatever the case, this was an enjoyable watch, although Mrs. Spenser wanted more scares or more anything. I wonder what Colbert will do next.