Animals (2018)

Sophie Hyde’s film based on Emma Jane Unsworth’s novel of the same name tackles the lives of Laura (Holliday Granger) and Tyler (Alia Shawkat) who are best friends living together in Dublin. Laura is a writer, and has been composing a novel for a decade (a novel of which she has a mere few pages to show) and she and Tyler appear to spend most of their time going against the grain of life in terms of becoming “property of men” in marriage, as Tyler stipulates, or having anyone tell them what to do; drinking heavily whilst they rebel against these systems. Laura perhaps feels the pressure of needing to grow up more than Tyler; her sister who is in a loving relationship with a proper job becomes pregnant, whilst Tyler’s estrangement from her American family seems to give her carte blanche to do whatever she likes in life. The dynamic between the pair is fractured when Laura falls in love with concert pianist Jim, and not long after the pair become engaged. Animals becomes Laura’s film, but that’s not to dilute the influence and importance of either Tyler or Laura’s family; both become part of Laura’s moral compass as she begins to spend more time with Jim (to Tyler’s chagrin) but can’t help holding onto her life with Tyler in bits and pieces. Jim doesn’t seem to have a huge amount in common with Laura, but she clearly likes him enough to consider settling down with him. Things become more complicated when she meets Marty, a young poet show shares similarities with Laura with regards to their passions in life. Animals is about friendship, love, and growth, and Hyde leaves plenty in the film to make your own mind up about where your allegiances lie within the story, helped by a terrific script. 7.6/10