'Magpie' turns temptation into nonsense
HANDOUT
Who holds the record as the world’s most conspicuous emotional cheater? The champ might have competition from Ben (Shazad Latif), who’s so quickly taken with movie star Alicia (Matilda Lutz) that he gives little thought to how painfully obvious he’s being around his wife Annette (Daisy Ridley). Or maybe he just doesn’t care; this is an unhappy marriage receiving no effort or support — to paraphrase “The Simpsons,” they have tried nothing and run out of ideas — as Annette seems to battle postpartum depression and Ben seems to see parenting as an opportunity or an inconvenience but not a thing that’s particularly entrenched long-term.
Ben meets Alicia after his and Annette’s daughter Tilly (Hiba Ahmed) lands a role in a costume drama headlined by this young, single movie star, who’s tabloid fodder after the leak of a sex tape. Cue Ben looking up pictures of Alicia and leaving the tab open on his computer and texting texting texting and not noticing when Annette walks into the bathroom while Ben showers and watches the aforementioned tape with a very busy hand, and not because he’s eating popcorn.
Seen very generously, first-time screenwriter Tom Bateman and director Sam Yates (making his feature debut) aim to explore chemistry posing as connection and emotional susceptibility in dire times, plus text’s ability to create and obscure reality. But even a pretty decent twist can’t rescue a narrative that ultimately just features a terrible couple being horrible parents, with more elements than expected overlapping with the underrated by similarly dubious “Knock Knock.” On that note: Eli Roth’s movie brought with it a disturbed sense of humor; “Magpie” is painfully serious and a missed chance to make something funny out of Ben’s obliviousness.
This is a story that should’ve inspired laughs or thoughtful conversations or even both; instead it’s a thin idea that doesn’t give the performers enough to work with that just makes you want to groan and call child services.
C
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