Some jobs can be very dull. After all, they require you to do the same thing every single day. It could quickly become frustrating to follow such a strict routine that allows virtually no room for variety, especially with your boss’s looming presence. In Lucile Hadžihalilovic’s fantasy drama EARWIG, we follow one such worker with a job that’s become frustratingly monotonous. When he decides to take a day off, he becomes entangled in increasingly bizarre and surreal experiences that make him question his purpose.

However, Albert (Paul Hilton) is not simply a pencil pusher at a nine-to-five. He has been hired to take care of Mia (Romane Hemelaers), a girl whose lack of teeth and overflow of saliva requires Albert’s frequent assistance. Using the overflow of water in Mia’s mouth, he must make ice cube dentures for her several times a day. It is not until Albert’s mysterious boss calls to inform him that he needs to prepare the young girl to leave their hideout. 

It is important to note that EARWIG is a dark film in more than a thematic sense. The film is sparsely lit and has many wide shots, which look lovely in motion. Hilton’s distant performance also gives the audience the creeps, even if his character never really does anything wrong throughout the film. Hemelaers, despite having no lines throughout the film, commands the screen with her off-putting yet innocent performance. Perhaps most hypnotizing is its sound design, courtesy of Bruno Schweisguth, Ken Yasumoto, and Benoît Biral. The recurring motif of glass reverb throughout the film will send chills down anyone’s spine.

The major problem with Hadžihalilovic’s effort is that it is empty. As a story, it is pretty similar to the building that Albert and Mia live. It never feels like it is progressing, instead mostly staying stagnant until a new plot point suddenly appears. The cutaways to a side plot involving a maimed waitress (Romola Garai) also make little sense and seem to be included just to stretch out the film’s 114-minute runtime. While this does not sound too long, the pace of the film makes it feel much longer. It simply does not do enough to keep the viewer interested in what little is happening. 

For such a weird and off-putting premise, it is strange that EARWIG is so lifeless in comparison. Events happen without any genuine regard to how they matter, and nobody is fleshed out enough to let the audience care about them. While the ending attempts to bring back the surrealism initially teased, it simply isn’t enough to justify how benign the rest of the film is. It makes sense that “Earwig” is the nickname given to Albert, as both the movie and his job are similarly monotonous and boring. 

• Author
• Recent Posts

Erin Brady

Erin has loved the bizarre and macabre since she was a child. This early fascination has led her to become a film and culture writer whose works on horror have been featured in Collider, Fangoria, and Little White Lies among others. When not watching movies and writing about them, she can be found writing short stories or re-watching Death Note for the millionth time.

Latest posts by Erin Brady (see all)

Tags: Adam Finch, Alex Lawther, Belgium, Benoît Biral, Bruno Schweisguth, France, Jonathan Ricquebourg, Ken Yasumoto, Lucile Hadžihalilovi?, Paul Hilton, Romane Hemelaers, Romola Garai, The United Kingdom, Toronto International Film Festival