Rent A Banquet (2021)

“Some people are just destined for stuff, right?” - A Banquet review by NP

Hey.

The characters we meet here are predominantly female, all respectably attractive and all hiding their own troubles. Where every sentence, every greeting, every question, begins with ‘hey.’

Everyone seems to walk on tiptoes around each other, so as not to unleash the deeper emotions that seem to be bubbling under the surface. Pretty young Betsy (Jessica Alexander) seems to have a supernatural experience we’re not privy to, and mum Holly (Sienna Guillory) and sis Isabelle (Ruby Stokes) don’t know how to cope with her behaviour. Lots of close-ups of mouths, eating, regurgitating. Shopping. Sitting in silence. A bit of pouting. Tedium occurs, and not just between the characters.

Hey. This is a world where we’re all a bit stoned, all a bit in touch with our feelings (characters like this used to be called Sloane Rangers). That’s, like, cool, of course, but it makes for pretty dull viewing. There are no real conversations here, just characters talking about themselves whilst those around them try desperately, and earnestly, to ‘understand’. This goes on for 97 long minutes. Lindsay Duncan as June sweeps in and speaks a bit of sense; pity she doesn’t hang around long.

Hey. I probably don’t ‘get’ it: that’s what the problem is. ‘Entitled middle-class white girls’ even get a mention here, before the navel-gazing, wistful piano music slips in.

This simply isn’t my kind of film. It seems strangely self-congratulatory as if everyone concerned is convinced something profound is being created. If it appeals, great, but it’s definitely an acquired taste. My score is 3 out of 10.