susannareuthere

An ageing woman's world is changed irrevocably by an encounter with a wild animal: A visual masterpiece, Waverley thrives on repeated viewing. In its quiet and meticulous composition, it makes both wonderful and unusual use of the short film form. The cinema of Tarkovsky comes to mind, yet the film stands well on its own. Its simple and elegiac narrative handles the theme of loneliness with a great sense of ambiguity. Piers Thompson (director and writer) creates a dense structure of metaphorical references without becoming overly symbolic. This structure carefully encompasses the old woman herself, her large and strangely derelict country home, the nature of her limited and unfulfilled encounters with the outside world as well as her distinctive readiness to interact with both nature and the things she surrounds herself with. The film also gives the viewer a sense of an ageing person's perception of time and change by skilfully juxtaposing it against the "real time" of an outside world that seems to remain hermetically removed from the character's experience. Angela Pleasence is superb in the title role.