Written and directed by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, based on the novel of the same name by Deborah Levy, Rose and her daughter Sofia travel to the Spanish seaside town of Almería to consult with the enigmatic healer Dr. Gomez, who could possibly hold the cure to Rose’s mystery illness. Sofia, trapped till now by her mother’s condition, begins to shed her inhibitions as she is drawn to the magnetic charms of a free spirited traveller, Ingrid. Starring: Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, Vicky Krieps, Vincent Perez, Yann Gael and Patsy Ferran.
It’s hard not to quickly draw a line to Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Lost Daughter, it holds a similar initial tension mixed with suspicion and hinting at the bigger issues lingering just below the surface. However, whereas that film hugely intensifies and unravels as time goes on, Hot Milk is like a meandering walk on the beach, some great visuals but there’s not a lot happening. The direction definitely hits the right notes, leaning into the fracturing nature of the story, adding an intimacy, frustration, and loneliness. The setting unsurprisingly has a lot to offer and having so many sun soaked scenes by coastal views is pretty much never going to disappoint.
The direction is providing so much potential to guide this story into something more complex, messy or even dark, but it refrains from choosing any of those. The writing feels like the real issue with Hot Milk, it’s entirely unsatisfying and at times feels purely random. There’s so many little inclusions and phrases that seem like they’re some form of inside joke because they make no sense. You can absolutely tell that this is attempting to be a story about unhealthy relationships, co-dependency and emotional trauma but it’s giving very little. It’s as if it’s telling viewers: there is something deeper going on here, but we don’t want to tell you what it is, we’d rather simply give you the emotional consequences and have you wait around to figure it out.
Adding that to the extremely slow pacing of Hot Milk and it’s the recipe for a frustrating watching experience. Especially considering that when it finally does arrive at its finale, a chance to at least reveal enough to make the slow journey worth your while, and it falls flat. It makes some very melodramatic choices that do technically fit the pattern of its characters but don’t work well. Not to mention that for a film which is almost entirely dependent on dialogue driven scenes, it’s frequently difficult to determine what the characters are saying, as the audio quality really lacks clarity.
Then there’s the key draw for a lot of viewers which is the romantic connection between Emma Mackey’s Sofia and Vicky Krieps’ Ingrid but unfortunately, it’s mostly a letdown. Their chemistry is weak, if anything it feels more of a friendship with sex thrown in, rather than a romantic connection. This also doesn’t feel like a role befitting Krieps’ talent or presence, it’s so nonchalant and transient, she never gets a great moment to shine. Mackey is great in the lead, although her character’s face feels permanently like she’s irritated or put out, which in fairness is quite appropriate for Sofia but isn’t the most compelling choice. There’s a certain intensity she brings to the table which could have opened so many doors for something riskier here, but it plays things safe and makes Sofia fairly uninteresting.
Fiona Shaw is forever reliable, she’ll always add to everything she’s in and here she does a wonderful job of bringing a heavy dose of denial, manipulation, selfishness and brokenness. There was more than enough territory to explore in that mother-daughter relationship, but it feels like they barely scratched the surface, only finally opening the doors minutes before they slam them shut again when the credits roll. Similarly with Patsy Ferran’s Julieta, she could have added so much, but the story keeps her firmly on the sidelines.
Hot Milk raises so many questions and feels almost entirely unwilling to answer them. It starts things off on an interesting note but never progresses very far, and along the way feels erratic and confusing. There are some good elements, the performances are strong and visually it works really well but the writing and progression can’t live up to them. It’s a slow burn and sadly, doesn’t have a lot to offer once it does finally arrive at its destination.
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