Silver_and_Cyan

Ellen: Die storie van Ellen Pakkies (2018)

A piercing window into the psyche of drugs' effects

Well-acted, gritty, powerful, and authentic. Jill Levenberg's performance as Ellen was superb. Although she stars in the long-running soap opera Suidooster, this is Levenberg's first starring role in a feature-length film. Let us hope there will be more to come. Jarrid Geduld does a good job as Abie, the son whose use of crystal meth both destroys his own life and devastates his family. His role required considerable range, from normalcy to extreme emotion, and he delivered. Even the minor parts were acted well. As the judge, Ilse Klink conveyed feeling below the solemnity, and Elton Landrew was effective as a steady-helmed husband buffeted by disaster.

The Lavendar Hill neighborhood and the Pakkies' house itself was used for the filming, and the re-enacted murder was filmed in the room where the real murder took place, with great attention to detail and accuracy. The result is a gripping, immersing film well worth watching.