Morvern Callar is a 2002 British drama film written and directed by Lynne Ramsay, adapted from the novel of the same name by Alan Warner. The film stars Samantha Morton in the titular role, alongside Kathleen McDermott, Linda McGuire, and Dolly Wells.
The film follows Morvern, a young woman living in a small Scottish port town with her troubled boyfriend, who works in a grocery store. On Christmas morning, she wakes up to find that he has committed suicide in their apartment, leaving behind an unpublished manuscript and a sum of money intended for his funeral expenses.
Rather than following the traditional path of arranging a funeral for him, Morvern decides to take the money and manuscript and travel to Spain on a spontaneous vacation with her best friend Lanna. She leaves a note for her boyfriend's family, telling them that he wanted to be cremated and scattered at sea. In Spain, Morvern parties hard, takes drugs, and meets new people, while Lanna struggles to cope with the loss of her own partner.
Morvern reads her boyfriend's manuscript, and is surprised to find that it is a work of genius. She decides to submit it to a publisher under her own name, without any indication that it was written by her boyfriend. Eventually, the novel is accepted for publication and Morvern becomes a successful author, but she is haunted by the guilt of passing off her boyfriend's work as her own.
The film is a dark and haunting meditation on grief, identity, and the power of art. Ramsay's singular visual style, combined with Morton's captivating performance, make for a mesmerizing and unforgettable cinematic experience.
