Based on a play by Kaite O’Reilly (who co-wrote the screenplay), The Almond and the Seahorse follows two couples, both struggling with the aftermath of traumatic brain injuries. It should be dramatically rich territory for this British indie (which was shot in Merseyside and Wales): Sarah (Rebel Wilson, in a rare and not entirely comfortable non-comedy performance) struggles to see traces of the man she fell in love with in amnesiac Joe (Celyn Jones). And former architect Toni (Charlotte Gainsbourg, slouching despondently through her performance like a teenager plunged into ennui by a spotty wifi signal) is now a full-time carer for Gwen (Trine Dyrholm), who has no memory of the past 15 years. Unfortunately, it’s clumsily contrived and disingenuous stuff. A film so grating that you long for the sweet release of amnesia.
In UK and Irish cinemas now
