The End We Start From

We end our year with an appropriately named film which brings hope to a world full of troubles. Jodie Comer stars as a woman who gives birth just as terrible floods hit London; new life begins as the old life ends. The film continues to emphasise the individuals' problems rather than the bigger picture, focusing on our unnamed hero trying to survive as food gets harder to find. She first escapes from London up North with her partner, then tries to reach a commune with a new-found friend, all the while having to fend for her baby.

"The End We Start From explores more than motherhood at the end of the world, its subject is every nuance of womanhood at any stage of life. The film takes great care to convey just how wild and new that enormous new stage in life is, how deeply tied to who you were before, and always will be. It's heartening that neither of the seismic changes that occur in this story is what makes or breaks its people: the journey gets harder, but you just keep walking through. Eventually, the rain will always stop" - Ellen Kemp, Evening Standard.

"'The End We Start From'... provides us with an unusual, female powered alternative within a field of films that are usually heavier on action than words. It's carried to the finish line by Comer, an actor whose naturalism is an ideal fit for a character forced to constantly react to the ever changing situation in front of her, no time for anything but a need to survive. When she does get the briefest of pauses, to deliver a moving monologue about a deep-rooted fear of death or to finally allow herself to cry, it's all the more impactful for the restraint that's surrounding and Comer is outstanding whatever the mode. As a big screen star, she's just beginning" - Benjamin Lee, Guardian. Don't miss her big start!