Queen at Sea

It is undoubtedly every child’s nightmare: discovering that your parents are (still) sexually active, or worse, walking in on them in the middle of it. But when Amanda angrily throws open the bedroom door of her childhood home, there is more at stake. She is worried about her mother Leslie, who, due to her advanced dementia, is no longer able to communicate what is and is not acceptable in the bedroom. Is the abruptly interrupted encounter between Leslie and her husband an expression of love, or an act of sexual violence?

The unsettling opening scene of Queen At Sea sets in motion an ever-growing conflict between Leslie’s caregivers, Martin and Amanda. Don’t expect any easy answers in Hammer’s compelling dementia drama, however, as the American director refuses to opt for an overly simplistic narrative. Police investigations, home visits and sweeping changes threaten to further destabilise the confused Leslie. Martin is her only anchor of calm, his presence essential to preventing greater crises. Amanda is tormented by the choices she has to make, pained by the inevitable consequences they will have for the lives of her mother, her daughter and herself. Nothing is clear-cut in this raw, morally ambiguous drama. 

Queen At Sea is far from the first film to explore the thorny situations and existential questions that arise from dementia. Prestigious films such as Amour (FFG2012), Vortex (FFG2021) and Still Alice have done the same, successfully capturing the disorientation, discomfort and utter helplessness that accompany the condition. Queen At Sea can easily hold its own alongside these heavyweights. The Silver Bear winner is uncompromising, charged and claustrophobic. Oscar-nominated cinematographer Adolpho Veloso confines us to cramped rooms, turning us into unwelcome voyeurs of uncomfortable conversations. Actress Juliette Binoche is indispensable as the desperate yet determined daughter Amanda; Tom Courtenay and Anna Calder-Marshall are outstanding as the tormented couple. At the Berlin International Film Festival, both were honoured with Silver Bears for Best Supporting Performance. Lance Hammer’s comeback is a triumph, leaving deep craters in the minds of anyone brave enough to confront the discomfort of this deeply unsettling drama.