Glasgow 2023

Typist Artist Pirate King review – Monica Dolan’s erratic artist paints a colourful picture

Writer-director Carol Morley’s latest dance with the unheard voices of the vulnerable is an acquired taste that’s worth championing

Despite exceptional appearances in Appropriate Adult, W1A, and The Thief, His Wife, and the Canoe, it’s possible audiences haven’t yet arrived at the conclusion that it’s Monica Dolan’s world – and we’re just living in it. Grappling with a portrayal of real life outskirt artist Audrey Amiss, Dolan propels her craft to higher ground in Carol Morley’s latest drama Typist Artist Pirate King. It’s a title that makes more sense when viewers hone in on the smaller details, with the film’s 106-minute runtime comprised of hidden artistic artefacts left to marinate in a sea of high tension and bombastic silliness. Countered by passive yet gentile psychiatric nurse Sandra (Kelly MacDonald), Amiss is now arguably getting the flowers she long yearned for when she was alive.

All the best stories start with a simple premise, which Typist Artist manages to build on with exceptional gravitas and emotional nuance. A far cry from Thelma & Louise, viewers follow the two women on a road trip of a lifetime, with Audrey hoping to track down an art exhibition space in her native Sunderland. The pair meet a plethora of faces along the way that are supposedly familiar, yet Audrey’s grasp on her past, present and future means these encounters aren’t always what they seem.

It’s up to the viewers to discern if Audrey has staunch memories or elusive fabrications, in the way that an art gallery might challenge perception and thinking. From the moment the audience is introduced to Audrey’s flat and frantic daily routines, they’re invited to be challenged. Not only are ideas surrounding mental health and the care available for it confronted head-on, but the meandering and often chaotic pacing of the film is an acquired taste – like a bemused mother wandering around an avant-garde installation, pretending to know what she’s talking about.

For those that sing to this artistic hymn sheet, Morley’s vision works like a charm. Never stagnating in the same emotional moment for too long, Audrey’s sense of self is both exhaustingly bewildering and pioneers the intellectual clarity held by a self-help guru. Kelly MacDonald is possibly underutilised, mildly going along with Audrey’s visions for no good reasons, with a fledgling backstory seldom explained. Though it would be nice to dig deeper into that, Typist Artist arguably doesn’t need the fluff, better off marching to the beat of its own drum. The fact that it’s a fairly unheard-of true story is only the icing on the surrealist cake, allowing viewers to peel back Audrey’s layers with the satisfaction of a binge-able documentary.

Though Morley’s unique direction is a credit to itself, it’s ultimately Monica Dolan’s performance that allows Typist Artist Pirate King to truly reverberate. Audrey might exist solely on Quavers, but Dolan brings this multifaceted artist to life in a dazzling array of colours.

Typist Artist Pirate King was screened as part of the Glasgow Film Festival 2023. A UK release date is yet to be announced.

Where to watch

More Reviews...

The Innocent review – 60s-inspired heist movie with an existential twist

In his fourth feature film, writer-director Louis Garrel explores with wit and tenderness the risk and worth of second chances

Baato review – Nepal’s past and future collide in an immersive, fraught documentary

A mountain trek intertwines with a road-building project, granting incisive, if underpowered, insight into a much underseen world

The Beanie Bubble review – a grim new low for the “corporate biopic” genre

With none of the saving graces of Tetris, Air, or Barbie, this ambition-free look at the Beanie Baby craze is pure mediocrity

Everybody Loves Jeanne review – thoroughly modern fable of grief, romantic confusion, and climate anxiety

Celine Deveaux's French-Portuguese debut can be too quirky for its own good, but a fantastically written lead character keeps it afloat

Features

Repertory Rundown: What to Watch in London This Week, From Little Women to Sergio Leone

From classics to cult favourites, our team highlight some of the best one-off screenings and re-releases showing this week in the capital

Repertory Rundown: What to Watch in London This Week, From Coppola to Cross of Iron

From classics to cult favourites, our team highlight some of the best one-off screenings and re-releases showing this week in the capital

20 Best Films of 2023 (So Far)

With the year at the halfway point, our writers choose their favourite films, from daring documentaries to box office bombs

Repertory Rundown: What to Watch in London This Week, From Mistress America to The Man Who Wasn’t There

From classics to cult favourites, our team highlight some of the best one-off screenings and re-releases showing this week in the capital