The Headless Woman

Martel didn't make it easy on herself when she directed The Headless Woman. She takes a very basic and predictable movie plot and tries to make it relatable on a realistic level. For that to work, the characters have to transcend the film. That never quite happened, so instead, we're stuck with an artsy flick that reiterates a very standard plot.

Driving home, Vero is distracted for just a second. Right at that moment she hits something. Looking back she sees the contours of a dog lying on the road, but once home she starts to doubt herself. The more time passes, the more Vero is convinced that she might have hit an actual person.

The film is very slow and most scenes are pretty banal, but since we're experiencing Vero's uncertainty as she tries to move on with her life, that pacing is warranted. It works up until a certain point, but the artsy (though surprisingly unattractive) camera work and the tight focus kept reminding me I was watching a film. This could've been pretty interesting, Martel's gamble just doesn't pay off. The result is quite mediocre.