Weekend Watches: Jodie Comer Stars As A Mother In The End We Start From
With the Hunger Games prequel dominating last year’s cinema screens and Leave the World Behind streaming on Netflix, the apocalyptic survival drama seems to be well and truly back in fashion. The End We Start From, which releases this Friday, is another such end-of-the-world movie, led by Killing Eve and The Bikeriders star Jodie Comer as a new mother trying to navigate after a huge disaster.
Directed by Mahaila Belo (Requiem), it co-stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Mark Strong (Citadel) and Katherine Waterston (The World To Come).
What is The End We Start From about?
The End We Start From is based on the novel by the same name by Megan Hunter and is set in the not-so-distant future in Britain’s capital, as an ecological disaster brings permanent destruction and disruption to our way of life.
Freak weather caused by the changing climate results in catastrophic flooding, destroying much of London and submerging it underwater. In the chaos and upheaval, one person caught up in it is a young woman with a newborn baby trying to survive. Forced to leave her home, she and her husband (Ben Wheatley) decide the safest passage for them is to flee up north, where they hope the effects of the flood will be lessened. Comer’s character is not named and she’s only listed as “The Mother”, as she journeys across the UK desperately trying to find herself and a new purpose in life.
Who else stars?
Alongside Comer and Wheatley, the rest of the supporting cast is no less mysterious. Cumberbatch’s role is also not yet named, but from the brief glimpse of him we catch in the trailer, he’s playing a fellow survivor who may or not have some villainous plans to remain alive.
We do know that his character, along with Mark Strong who also appears in the trailer, is a more minor one- more minor than Waterston’s, whose character intriguingly is only known as “O.” Joel Fry (Yesterday) meanwhile stars as “R”, while Gina McKee (My Policeman) and Nina Sosanya (W1A) appear.
Is there a trailer and when is it released?
Unless you’ve read the book, then The End We Start From’s plot remains shrouded in mystery- and the official teaser offers only a few glimpses of what to expect. It begins with Comer’s mother character playing a game of peek-a-boo with her child, and as the words “Where am I?” keep repeating, it becomes apparent that she’s asking that question herself. Flashes of the bleak world she lives in are seen, and some amazing landscapes. You’ll have to discover what happens yourself when the film debuts in cinemas on Friday 19th January. You can watch the teaser below.
