Movie Review: ‘Anchor And Hope’

Review by James Lindorf

Anchor and Hope marks the return of Director Carlos Marques-Marcet in his second feature-length film, which he also co-wrote alongside Jules Nurrish. Eva (Oona Chaplin, Avatar 2) and Kat (Natalia Tena, Game Of Thrones) are 30 somethings living a carefree life aboard their London canal boat until Eva presents Kat with an ultimatum: she wants to start a family. When Kat’s best friend, Roger (David Verdaguer, Summer 1993), comes to town, he and Eva have the idea to create the baby together. Forced into a corner, Kat sees no other way out but to say yes. Anchor and Hope will hit theaters in New York and LA on November 16th.
The film relies heavily on the performance of its three leads, as there is only one other character that we see more than once.

Luckily for Marques-Marcet, his casting director, Alice Purser, was able to put together a very talented trio. Each of them was given a chance to play a character that, while not exactly driven, they each have things they are passionate about and is important to them. Eva wants to be like her mother, to shepherd someone through life and be there for them in all their important moments. Kat loves nothing more than Eva, followed closely by boats and their bohemian lifestyle, but Eva is what drives her throughout the film. When he first arrives, Roger’s focus is on the next good time and the next conquest, but once Eva gets pregnant, his focus changes to the baby and what role he can play as the donor.

Marques-Marcet and Nurrish developed strong characters, but didn’t support them with the most substantial story. They failed to create a sense of passing time, so instead of feeling like one cohesive story, it comes off as a series of closely related vignettes. Here are the characters deciding to get pregnant, being afraid of impending parenthood, blanching at the cost of baby related items and fighting over familial roles. Instead of rounding out his film around those moments, Marques-Marcet instead prioritized artistic flair over the story, lingering on moments until they become awkward, making characters overly eccentric, and one underwater scene that bordered on obnoxious. There is enough story remaining to enjoy this film, and for someone expecting a child or trying to conceive, especially a same-sex couple, it could be profound. For others, the lack of warmth and the rush to conflict could cause it to be a disappointment.

While their canal lifestyle is interesting, it is mostly unexplored. The film is really only about the main characters and their differing expectation of intimacy. Kat and Eva are madly in love. They are sloppy, they are selfish but, they are in love. Can that be enough? The only way to find out is to watch for yourself starting on the 16th.