Female Human Animal

Female Human Animal is a hybrid of surrealist storytelling and documentary-style filming techniques invented by artist and filmmaker, Josh Appignanesi that brings a new realm to the notion of psychological thriller. The 2018 movie stars Chloe Aridjis, Marc Hosemann, Angus Wright, and was written and directed by Josh Appignanesi himself.

Chloe Aridjis, a London-based Mexican author synonymous with introducing the uncanny psychological, plays a version of herself in the movie. She is a central part of developing the story after being prompted by the work of the underrated surrealist artist and writer, Leonora Carrington, who Chloe spent a great deal of her time curating a retrospective of her work.

Female Human Animal is a panoramic thriller that paints an image of the staid bourgeois London cultural scene, which effectively serves as the unusual backdrop for the movie. The film operates on the border of reality and subconscious, merging documentary footage with a surrealist plot that draws on the work of Carrington.

Throughout the movie, Chloe finds herself lonely and emotionally unfulfilled despite the fascinating people and world she interacts with. Disillusioned by the societal norms, intellectual limitations, and her own personal relationships, Chloe is in a constant struggle to find a sense of belonging.

After a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger (played by Marc Hosemann), her life takes a mind-bending turn. This unexpected visitor, intriguing yet sinister, is the embodiment of her dark fantasies awoke by her engagement with Carrington’s work. Despite perceptible danger, Chloe finds herself attracted to this enigma. As the plot unfolds, the line between sanity and madness becomes perilously blurry.

Angus Wright aptly complements the cast, solidifying the psychedelic journey through panic-ridden chaos and magnetic charm. The close-up scenes involve characters contemplating their desires, revealing their instincts, and writhing in their fears, to show an ungraspable reality, and they achieve stunning effects on the viewers.

This eerie film intertwines interviews and scenes with real artists, writers and curators – all seemingly unknowing accomplices in this felonious fiction. The movie's black-and-white palette captures London in a new, refreshingly uncanny light. The aesthetic subtly suggests a reality that is not wholly familiar to us, adding to the overall sense of strangeness.

The film has a captivating score by Andy Cooke that resonates throughout, amplifying the narrative's sense of anxiety and intrigue. What sets Female Human Animal apart is its ability to fuse the ordinary with elements of supernatural in a seamless fashion. Familiar settings become imbued with meaning, objects gain a sense of foreboding, and the mundane takes on a dread-filled dimension.

Female Human Animal confirms Appignanesi’s prowess in blending fantasy and reality whilst exploring deep themes of self-identity, desire and disillusionment. Using Chloe Aridjis's laconic delivery style, he ignites an element of black humour, serving as a timely critique of the contemporary art world.

The result is a film that subverts typical thriller tropes, creating a new genre of psychodrama that blends elements of documentary and fiction. It leaves the viewers questioning the lines between reality and fantasy, sanity and insanity, and terror and attraction, examining the dark corners of the human psyche.

Overall, Female Human Animal is an immersive journey into the inner workings of a woman narrated through an intriguing mosaic of thriller, drama, art documentary, and psychological study. Loosely inspired by Leonora Carrington's life and work, it is a gritty tale of existential angst and paranoiac horror. An unconventional film in every aspect, Female Human Animal is a captivating exploration of womanhood, identity, desire, and the subconscious, serving as a daring and ambitious addition to the landscape of independent cinema.