Brain injuries affecting the lives of two couples are the topic of The Almond and the Seahorse, based on the play of the same name by Katie O’Reilly.
Gwen and Toni, Joe and Sarah. 15 years and 2, respectively, since their worlds were torn apart by car accident and surgery. Both Gwen and Joe now live with “broken brains” and confusion.
Celyn Jones co-writes and directs, as well as appearing in the complex role of Joe, whose strength and impulses are shrouded in a childlike fog as his memories disappear.
Wife Sarah, played by Rebel Wilson in a dramatic role with some sensitivity, struggles with their relationship as he is physically present but changed beyond recognition in his personality.
For Charlotte Gainsbourg’s pragmatic and wounded Toni (replacing Tom in the play), she has lost both wife and unborn child in one catastrophic moment.
Gwen (a heartbreaking Trine Dyrholm) is suspended in time as a young, pregnant girl – a truth shattered each time she looks in the mirror.
Scenes in a rather posh clinic led by Meera Syal’s changeable doctor (sometimes sympathetic, she’s also a bit of a prickly professional) don’t work quite as well as scenes featuring the four principals.
A moment of sexual intimacy between Wilson and Gainsbourg feels a little forced, but underlines the situation of those now seen as repulsive or unknown by those they married, needing a source of “comfort”.
The Almond and the Seahorse still feels very theatrical, and some scenes are not easy to watch. The title refers to the areas of the brain that team up to store memories, the amygdala and hippocampus.
As Gwen reconnects to moments before the crash by playing her cello, Joe’s short-term memory loss threatens to retreat and delete any hint of life before brain surgery.
There are no easy shortcuts or unlikely happy endings here, but a way through dealing with medical afflictions that reshape who we are.
The Almond and the Seahorse comes to cinemas in the UK from 10 May. Re-edited for UK audiences, it is co-directed by Tom Stern, with more details here.
Image credit: Picnic Entertainment