Hunter is the wife of a wealthy and handsome man who has an enormous and beautifully furnished house with tall glass windows and an eye-wat...
Hunter is the wife of a wealthy and handsome man who has an enormous and beautifully furnished house with tall glass windows and an eye-watering view – but no domestic help.
No matter. Hunter (Haley Bennett) is a neatness freak with a tendency to iron out all kinds of creases, even the ones on her husband’s silk tie. The garment is ruined, of course, and is among the warning signs that all isn’t well with this impeccably turned out housewife.
Hunter has a disorder that threatens to consume her. She has an appetite for indelible objects – glass marbles, paper, what have you. Her secret is safe inside her until she gets pregnant. In a film filled with moments of suspense and dread, the scene in which Hunter reaches for a pointed object is straight out of a horror film.
Is Hunter a fit case for institutionalisation or does she actually need empathy and a fair hearing? Haley Bennet’s tremendous central performance fills in the cracks in writer-director Carlo Mirabella-Davis’s first feature. Swallow, which is being streamed on Mubi India, does an excellent job of creating a mood of unrelenting creepiness, but is a bit scanty when it comes to exploring the roots of Hunter’s condition....
