This home run of a first feature film by writer/director Jade Winters is a triumph when it comes to portraying bitter truths, betrayals and belonging. Belonging to another or belonging to oneself, main character Genevieve has this and much more to figure out whilst battling amnesia after a vicious attack.
Based on Winters' best-selling novel of the same title, the story within captured by cinematographer Alba Mendoza, in my opinion, successfully translates to the screen with the use of masterfully framed shots, as well as the incredible talents of both leads Ella McCready (Genevieve) and Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart (Rebecca).
The pacing set forth at the beginning of the film works double time to inform the audience of past events in conjunction with scenes from current events in the story. All with the use of well-timed flashbacks and comfortable transitions back to the present; Not always an easy feat in filmmaking. However, it works very well here with this film. (Oh, to be a fly on the wall in that storyboard room.) It's important for the viewer to understand how Genevieve came to be with her partner Rebecca, and how that left a burning wake of heartbreak and anger with not only her ex-fiancé Paul, but with her family as well.
"How have you lived with him all these years? And why have I never asked before?"
This line in the film (from Genevieve to her mother Elsie) hit a very strong chord with me especially, coming from a largely conservative "small town USA" background and knowing all too well how deep-seated and unwavering homophobia can be even within a family dynamic. Anything outside-the-norm is repulsive and repugnant to the point that a daughter, a son, a brother, a sister, whomever it may be, would no longer be viewed as human, which the dialogue in this film (in some of its more heated scenes) accomplishes with referring to the woman Genevieve loves as a "thing" and not a "person". Homophobia is not a condition of the mind that operates based on logic, but on an absolute and unyielding fear of the unknown. The religious aspect inherent in the movie as well only builds upon this with further lines such as "Do you know what it's like to try and prevent your only daughter from being condemned to eternal suffering in hell?" - Genevieve's father, Eddie.
The story goes: Genevieve has left her fiancé, an artist named Paul, after falling in love with an art critic named Rebecca. This sets a powerful rift within Genevieve's personal life, mostly afflicting that of her mother and father who are deeply unsettled by the fact that their daughter is now in a relationship with another woman. Cue the homophobic slurs and general dark-heartedness.
To the tune of four years later, Genevieve is happily sharing a flat with her love Rebecca when she's attacked and left with a head injury, which results in a diagnosis of amnesia. Enter Mom, Dad, and Paul. There's something also to be said here about scene stealer DC Isabel Smith (played wonderfully by Dani Blue). The sympathetic, steely-gazed cop tasked with looking into Genevieve's attack made this viewer feel the sudden urge to turn to a life of crime. I mean really, wouldn't even complain if the handcuffs were too tight. From my understanding, the book (which I immediately downloaded via Kindle Unlimited after finishing the movie) features more of DC Smith, so, I'd also recommend reading as well.
Back to the plot: The family (and ex-fiancé) take Genevieve's amnesia as an opportunity to re-insert themselves back into her life and are very wary of her having any contact with Rebecca, who is devastated beyond words that her girlfriend does not recognize her anymore. Once discharged from the hospital, Genevieve spends a period of time at her parents house where Elsie and Eddie seek to do their level best to impose her ex Paul upon her at every chance. It's parts of the film such as here that the cinematography does an excellent job of visualizing how alone, and perhaps "far away" Genevieve must feel from everything she used to know. A specific framed shot peering down a spiral staircase says this to me and much more. Rebecca, who is certainly not alone in this feeling, is in the meantime doing her best to carry on a life that is absent the woman she loves.
The rest unfolds much like how you might expect it to. Once Genevieve recovers her memory, is she really to be blamed for how upset she may feel towards her parents? (and Rebecca as well, who in my opinion should have fought a shade harder for her girlfriend- but alas, most definitely a rock and a hard place it is.) With a mother and father who claim to only want the best for their daughter and that her happiness is obviously their main concern (the "ugh" I "ugh-ed" here, good heavens. It's a well-written story that makes you wanna rage a little bit...) the film does a very good job with evoking strong emotions within an audience who can connect with its story. It's not only the attempt at deceitfulness on behalf of her parents which makes this possible, but also the fact that everyone besides Rebecca seems to treat her as if they can brainwash her, essentially viewing her as a blank slate. As if any influence from the outside can manipulate poor, impressionable, fragile little Genevieve.
With a shocker of a twist ending (not *who* I thought it was going to be, that's for sure...) One Four Three succeeds in telling a compelling, pulls-no-punches sort of story about a woman who follows her heart, even despite it costing her everything.
Everything except for her love, that is.
-S. C. Peregrine
Review originally published via Fleet of Fandoms.
