Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s directorial debut Hot Milk opens with a quote from artist Louise Bourgeois that captures perfectly its disquieting and enigmatic tone: “I’ve been to hell and back. And let me tell you it was wonderful.”
This is slippery, subversive storytelling that’s very hard to get any firm grasp on – but that is one of its main pleasures. The film, adapted from Deborah Levy’s bestselling novel, seems at first like a rite of passage story. But there are comic moments, too, then sudden explosions of violence, surreal interludes, and even bits of sapphic summer romance.
