The Party’s Just Beginning, 2018.
Written and directed by Karen Gillan.
Starring Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Matthew Beard, and Paul Higgins.
SYNOPSIS:
Almost a year after his death, Liusaidh (Karen Gillan) struggles to come to terms with her friend’s suicide.
You can’t have a party without music, yet Liusaidh doesn’t sound like she’s singing. The first scene in The Party’s Just Beginning is her doing karaoke, which you know because of the way the words turn pink at the bottom of the screen. These aren’t subtitles because she’s drunk or has a Scottish accent, but they’re also not the lyrics of any song from popular music. It’s as though her drunken speech was scripted, the same words other drunks have spoken before, until the end.
When Liusaidh dedicates her speech-song to Alistair (Matthew Beard) and curses him for leaving her, that’s coming from her, not any imaginary teleprompter. It’s this loss that reverberates throughout The Party’s Just Beginning, Gillan’s feature debut as writer, director, and star (she’d previously directed some short films), yet in the moment you don’t realize how important these words are.
That, too, is significant to how this film portrays grief because, while the fact that the dedication’s not part of the karaoke routine makes it stand out, there’s an assumption you can make, about the relationship Liusaidh is referring to with it. The setting and Liusaidh’s inebriation add to this idea that she must be talking about an ex-boyfriend. He left her by breaking up and this is the beginning of a chick flick, but that’s not what happened at all.
As we learn more about Liusaidh’s friendship with Alistair over flashbacks, we see her occasionally attempt to broach the subject with friends and family. Unlike the patrons at the bar and those of us watching the movie, they know who Alistair is and what happened to him (the last part becomes clear early on, but that leaves the events leading up to it), yet they barely acknowledge his death, changing the subject without, seemingly, realizing that’s what they’re doing. It would be one thing if they were trying to avoid a conversation (though that could be the case, as well) but it seems they’re too self-absorbed to realize the weight of what Liusaidh’s trying to say.
Many movies would let Liusaidh catch a break eventually, but here it just seems to get worse. Liusaidh often asks for music and a piano at her parents’ house offer secret relieve when they’re not at home. The trouble with secrets, though, is it means your parents can get rid of that piano when they don’t think anyone’s playing it and the film’s use of sound (whether it’s a sound Liusaidh can’t shake or complete silence) adds to the overall impact. There’s also some wonderful editing and use of transitions to switch between the past and the present. The Party’s Just Beginning is set in Inverness where Gillan was born, and she makes use of local locations, like a chip shop (for French fries) and the Clootie Well.
Liusaidh needs to talk to someone but most of the time when the phone’s ringing it’s someone trying to reach the helpline (their phone number’s very similar). In light of it not ringing you see her reflection in the phone, when she’s walking down the stairs for another night of fast food and casual sex.
Gillan is a force of nature, both in front of and behind the camera, and while Alistair’s story can be seen as perpetuating the trend to end gay films with tragedy (however true those tragedies can be), artistically speaking The Party’s Just Beginning stands to be just the beginning of Gillan’s career directing, alongside acting.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★★★★ / Movie: ★★★
Rachel Bellwoar
