A good thriller is hard to find, and an erotic thriller feels all too rare. There’s a balance that must be upheld in order for a thriller to remain just that. Enter the impressive directorial debut from Sam Yates, Magpie, a neo-noir thriller about a crumbling marriage that’s taken over the edge when the couple’s daughter gets cast in a film starring a controversial star.
Ben and Annette share a gorgeous house in the countryside, but looks seem to be deceiving. When we’re first introduced to the couple, they seem more like roommates than lovers — cold and disconnected. Ben (Shazad Latif; What’s Love Got to Do With It?) is a successful writer. Annette (Daisy Ridley; Sometimes I Think About Dying) is currently a stay-at-home mom of two, one a newborn, though she plans to return to the workforce soon.
Their daughter Matilda lands a role in a new film starring Italian movie star Alicia. It’s decided that Ben will be Matilda’s chaperone on set. While Annette stays home with the baby, she begins to stir. When she sees that Ben has been looking at photos of Alicia online, the last thread binding their marriage begins to pull. This unravels a pulsing thriller of desire, betrayal, and revenge.
Spawned from the mind of Daisy Ridley and written by husband Tom Batemen, this thriller feels Hitchcockian in nature. Magpie simmers throughout its runtime but is never quite brought to boil, which causes the audience to stay alert, waiting for things to bubble. So much so that, at times, it felt that the film could’ve easily journeyed into the horror genre. During the question and answer portion of the SXSW screening, I was able to ask director Sam Yates how he and writer Tom Bateman were able to straddle this fine line to stay true to the genre.
“I’m really happy to hear any comparison to horror, which wasn’t ever our intention really, but the line between thriller and horror is kind of quite interesting,” says Yates. “I know what you mean. I think you feel it could go [there]. A lot of people felt there’s a supernatural element potentially coming because of the mirror and then the bird and magpie, which is quite interesting. But no, it’s very grounded [redacted spoiler].”
Magpie is now playing at the SXSW Film & TV Festival.
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