The post Star Wars trajectory is a mixed bag for actors. Maybe you get lucky, go the Harrison Ford route and become one of the shiniest movie stars of your generation. Maybe you’re more of a Mark Hamill type – initially out in the cold, before carving out a niche (in Hamill’s case as a sought after voice actor) and going on to cult success. Carrie Fisher, of course, was always a bit cooler than the entire endeavour, and continued her work as a writer, as well as dazzling in a variety of independent films. With Magpie, Daisy Ridley, who starred as Rey in the most recent round of George Lucas’ space opera, subtly signals that she would very much like to sit at Fisher’s table, please – by developing the story of this new independent thriller, working with writer Tom Bateman and director Sam Yates to make it a reality.
Ridley plays Anette, a mum to two children, one a babe in arms, and the other, bright young Tilly (Hiba Ahmed), a child actor. The kids are lovely, but hubby Ben (Shazad Latif) is an absolute arsehole; touchy, negative, checked out, irritable, he’s the sort of guy who never once asks Anette how her day went, but gets the hump if she doesn’t pander to his every emotional need. And then when she does pander to him, he gets annoyed by her pandering. Ben is a novelist, but not a wildly successful one, and there’s clearly a part of him that blames her on some level for this as well. You can practically hear the eggshells cracking as Anette tiptoes around his various vanities and insecurities.
It’s a fantastic performance by Latif, who, instead of going the panto villain route, has been smartly directed to play the guy with just enough charm that you can see how she got stuck with him. Ridley is more than a match for Latif; she plays neither outright victim nor warrior woman as Anette settles for a nuanced mixture of passive aggressive jibes and brittle, barely suppressed rage and disappointment that is bone-chilling.
It’s best not to dwell too much on the details of the plot – both from the point of view of enjoying this one unspoiled, and also because the plotting isn’t necessarily the film’s strongest suit. There are a couple of not-quite holes exactly, but slightly threadbare patches. More importantly, the narrative isn’t really the point; this is first and foremost a tense portrait of a toxic relationship, and a brutally compelling one at that.
• Magpie is on digital platforms from 11 November
