Most of us have entered a new relationship to find it haunted by the remnant of an old one. For Holly (Abi Hardingham), this is a literal occurrence. She is drawn to the brooding Rod (Cian Barry), surrounded by a grim air after his girlfriend Nina (Fiona O’Shaughnessy) died nearly two years before. She pushes to get close to him and eventually they begin a relationship. The first time they make love, Nina makes her return, emerging from the bed beneath them, fractured, bloodied, and VERY opinionated as to how Rob has chosen to move on with young Holly.
Once over the initial shock, Holly cannot shake her feelings for Rob nor her being drawn to the macabre. The pair try to make their relationship work despite the presence of Nina and the emotional baggage she brings into this most unlikely of threesomes.
Nina Forever is sure to tick the boxes of any necrophiliac, but the film uses its concept to form a surprisingly deft examination of loss and obsession. Within the presentation of a mundane, everyday reality, it conjures up a story that would resonate even without the supernatural element: sexually charged, emotionally wrought, and tinged with sadness. The film packs a dark emotional punch and strives for a tone and aesthetic along the lines of Let the Right One In and Don’t Look Now, although the rising through the bloody bed does hearken back toHellraiser. The comedic notes poke through on occasion — a switch to red sheets for example — but be under no illusion, this is a somber, twisted look at love and loss first and a black comedy second.
The onus of the film is on two new lovers trying to build a life together, yet one still struggles with feelings that were not naturally resolved. This isn’t a simple case of hangups from a breakup, it is the more harsh outcome of someone being ripped away. As it is adroitly put in the film, “You can’t break up with someone if they’re dead.”
Rob’s lack of closure and guilt is compounded by a continued relationship with Nina’s parents. Holly on the other hand is drawn to this lingering soul, yearning for such passion to enter her life. She also has a darker side, not just emotionally, but as a trainee paramedic she is literally chasing death as her chosen vocation.
While their pairing begins the film it soon develops into exploring the relationship that develops between Holly and Nina. When acceptance does not help remove Nina, Holly tries to purge her from their lives by throwing away her possessions and redecorating the apartment, but in doing so develops her own obsession with the departed, opening up another interesting avenue.
The more dramatic parts of the film are between the pair with a pulse, but Nina herself spreads seeds of sedition, like an inner voice speaking insights and promoting doubt between the new lovers. She is an actual manifestation of the internal concerns we all face when entering into something new. It is a clever device used by the filmmakers.
The intimacy of the piece is reflected in its focus on a small cast, and the actors repay the trust placed in them by the filmmakers. O’Shaughnessy (the amazing Jessica Hyde in Utopia) gives a rather wicked performance. Twisted and broken but still managing to show off a sultry and manipulative vibe, she is often responsible for generating the dark humor in the film, but also the catalyst for the more dramatic moments between Holly and Rob.
Cian Barry’s Rob is for the most part a shell-shocked bystander to the events unfolding but wears the mantle of a tortured soul well. The standout is Hardingham, who drives the film with a dark intensity reminiscent of Ruth Wilson (Luther, The Affair). It is surprisingly only her first feature, and she absolutely steals the show.
This is an assured debut from the Blaine Brothers (writer/directors). Humor is used sparingly, making for a more intense buildup, wth clever musical choices punctuating the tension or enhancing it. The visuals are simple, which emphasizes the more intense moments of the film, and rather impressive editing is at play, with the more pivotal scenes snappily intercut with flashes of the not too distant future. Nina Forever is both accomplished and confident in its construction.
While certainly accomplished for a debut, it does falter a little due to some repetition. The emergence of Nina sets off a confrontation, emotions are stirred, and this cycle is repeated for much of the film. The lulls between leave space for the real world mundanity of of the relationship between Holly and Rob, which grows with a dark sweetness.
What is impressive is that the filmmakers avoid the expected traditional ending, where the pair may take supernatural steps to excise Nina from their lives. Instead they take a more original and genuine path reflecting the emotional focus of the story. Some things remain etched within us that cannot be escaped, only accepted.
Nina Forever is a clever idea that could very easily have veered into the overly hilarious or full on horror, but instead treads a very fine line to give a touching examination of grief. A refreshing new take on the ménage à trois, blending sex, love, and loss into something unique. Technically impressive, with a deftly handled emotional component that is surprisingly resonant.