Hot Milk is a new English drama film, written and directed by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, based on Deborah Levy’s 2016 Booker-longlisted novel. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on Valentine’s Day and was released in the UK on 4 July. 

Essentially this a is a stirring, Irish family drama, but set in the searing heat of the Mediterranean sun, specifically in Almería on the southeastern coast of Spain. Here 25-year-old Sofia (Emma Mackey) has accompanied her wheelchair-bound mother Rose (Fiona Shaw) in her search for a cure for her unexplained paralysis, at the clinic of expensive private consultant Dr Gómez (Vincent Perez).

Whilst her mother undergoes treatment, Sofia hangs out on the beach, perhaps seeking a cure for her own rather different paralysis, as she waits for her life to properly begin. And she finds it, quite literally, in the hands of Ingrid (Vicky Krieps), a sexy, sensual bohemian who has made this small town her home. But Sofia’s sexual awakening is continually interrupted, partly by the demands of her cantankerous mother and partly by Ingrid’s other dalliances. In search of answers, she takes a trip to see her father (Yann Gael) in Athens, who left when she was just 4-years-old and who she has not seen for 11 years. But all she finds are more questions, and when she returns to Spain she discovers Ingrid also entertains ghosts from her past.

As you have probably gathered, this is a film about paralysis – about not being able to move forward because past events are always there to prevent progress. The journey is interesting, the characters are extremely well-drawn, the acting is all very good, especially Fiona Shaw who is exquisite as Rose. However, for me the ending failed on so many different levels it was just ridiculous. It did not exactly spoil the film, but left it feeling incomplete.

Hot Milk is moving, and sad, and I think worth watching, if ultimately not quite satisfying. I wouldn’t rush to see it, but if it is on the TV and you were going to stay in anyway and your hair doesn’t need washing, there are worse ways to spend your time.