The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureCinemaMovie reviews

Prevertere

Prevertere | Movie review
16 September 2013
Annie Robinson
Avatar
Annie Robinson
16 September 2013

The tagline of Prevertere (the new offering from writer/director Brian McGuire) reads “a pervert’s quest for love”. As anyone would imagine, it’s a journey that features numerous sex scenes en route. But the protagonist Templeton (Terry Wayne) – who’s frequently polyamorous while harbouring an unfortunate jealous streak – doesn’t come across as a man on a mission. Instead, he bangs his head against the restrictive barriers of monogamy, failing, without really trying, to make it work for him.

The film investigates various styles of intimacy through vignettes featuring sex, arguments and relationship analysis with the three women in Templeton’s life: Jo-anne (Rose Rossi) – the on-again off-again girlfriend, Shelly (Antonella Ponziani) – the other woman, and Irene (Pollyanna McIntosh) – the casual sex buddy. All three are well-cast, and prove to be worthy foils for the restless Templeton. Through the contrast of these women, McGuire examines how relationships function in the modern world.   

McGuire is hardly treading new ground with his subject – we’ve seen the male-protagonist-with-commitment-issues trope play out time after time in pop culture. What’s unique is how the narrative is framed: its non-linear structure, its intense bouts of dialogue dissecting relationships, and its steadfast refusal to answer any of the questions it poses. The unseen shock jock DJ who bookends the film proclaims “the answer to the game of love is – ”, before being cut off, leaving us to wonder.

The women in Templeton’s world are somewhat interchangeable, but McGuire avoids the trap of underdeveloped female characters by awarding them with the film’s most realistic and substantial dialogue. This is most noticeable in Irene, who is able to call out Templeton on his own culpability in his dysfunctional relationships, refusing to allow him to shrug off Shelly as “crazy” for her continued attachment to him.

In Prevertere, monogamy is difficult, unwanted or unsustainable. Therefore Templeton’s most mature relationship is with the free-spirited Irene, and it’s clear that exclusivity would ruin the bond they’ve forged together. The dimly-lit scenes delve into the darkness of human relationships to deliver an unblinkingly honest dissection of the sexual psyche.

Annie Robinson

Prevertere is released in the UK on 27th September 2013.

Watch the trailer for Prevertere here:

Related Itemsreview

More in Movie reviews

Imperial Blue

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More

MLK/FBI

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Sing Me a Song

★★★★★
Abbie Grundy
Read More

A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Wonder Woman 1984

★★★★★
Jake Cudsi
Read More

Come Away

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

Murder Me, Monster

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

David Byrne’s American Utopia

★★★★★
Rosamund Kelby
Read More

Dreamland

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • You Me at Six – Suckapunch
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories
    Theatre
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Persian Lessons
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The White Tiger
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Female filmmakers lead nominees for the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards
    Cinema
  • Persian Lessons: Exclusive new clip
    Cinema
  • Jeremiah Fraites: Piano Piano
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Quo Vadis, Aida?
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Ten short literary collections to get you back into reading
    Literature
  • Mayor
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Caro Emerald at the Royal Festival Hall | Live review
Hawking | Movie review