Earwig is a 2021 neo-noir body horror drama film co-written and directed by Lucile Hadžihalilović, based on the eponymous novel by Brian Catling. It is a co-production of the United Kingdom, Belgium, and France.
The film premiered in the Platform Prize program at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.
Contents
Premise
In bleak post-war Europe, a hot-tempered middle-aged man named Albert Scellinc must care for a strange little girl named Mia, who has no teeth. Every day Albert fashions new dentures for her out of ice, collecting the meltwater saliva in an odd device and refreezing it. Albert dreams of a dreamy past with his wife at a country manor, and when a mysterious voice instructs him to prepare Mia for the outside world, he is brought into contact with barmaid Celeste and her sinister friend Laurence, with violent consequences.
Cast
Paul Hilton as Albert Scellinc
Romane Hemelaers as Mia
Romola Garai as Céleste
Alex Lawther as Laurence
Peter Van Den Begin as The stranger
Anastasia Robin as Marie Scellinc
Michael Pas as The doctor
Isabelle de Hertogh as The concierge
Marie Bos as The receptionist
Music
Augustin Viard - Composer "Earwig's Theme" and Ondes Martenot
Warren Ellis - Music producer
Nicolas Becker - cristal Baschet
Release
Earwig screened at the BFI London Film Festival and was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom on 10 June 2022.
Reception
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised Jonathan Ricquebourg's cinematography and Julia Irribarria's production design, while describing the film as deliberately enigmatic and open to multiple interpretations.