There’s something about twins on screen that is particularly appealing. They are used to great effect in horror and thriller movies as their sometime telepathic abilities are unsettling and very dramatic. This is especially true if the siblings are played by the one actor. The new Welsh film The Library Suicides (original title Y Llyfrgell )features just such a performance that really makes the film stand out.
Ana and Nan (Catrin Stewart) are twin girls in mourning. Their mother Elena (Sharon Morgan) is dead. She was a famous writer who had early onset dementia and took her own life by leaping from her third floor flat. Ana and Nan see this and get to their Mum just in time for her to utter the words ‘It was Eben’. Eben was a protege of Elena and now her biographer. The girls plan revenge on what they see as the murder of their mother. They work in the national library that holds their mother’s archives which is the perfect place to vent their rath on the unsuspecting Eben.
This is a low budget Welsh language thriller that only has a cast of five people. The main roles of the twins is rather expertly played by Catrin Stewart. She gives two fascinating and very different performances meaning that the audience has no issues telling the identical twins apart. It is her perfomances that drives the film and makes it so memorable.
The story moves quickly and I thought the film would run out of steam after about forty minutes. It manages to avoid this by messing with your expectations. The way the characters conduct themselves is logical at all times and when things do not go according to the plan the girls do not do anything stupid or out of character. it adds to the enjoyment to see characters not reverting to a stereotype when things go wrong.
The setting of the national library adds to the tension in a number of scenes. Libraries are normally quiet and reserved spaces when occupied. When empty they take on a more sinister feel which the film exploits to the full. It was obvious that the film was made on a small budget as there were limited cast and a small number of locations. The effects budget all seemed to be spent on realising the twins on screen. For the entire film there was never any doubt in my mind that there were identical twins on the screen. It was seamless and very cleverly done in some shots.
The film deals with some weighty issues. The idea of the family is a major theme. The girls were, in their mothers words, created only by her. There was no father, just a visit to a clinic. The bond between the there is strong which drives the girls need for revenge. Contrast this to the security guard Dan (Dyfan Dwyfor). He has no one. On parole and just trying to keep out of trouble, he is the opposite in that he cannot call on any form of support.
Overall, a superbly executed thriller that is well paced and keeps you engaged right up till the end.
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