Time: 90 Minutes
Cast:
Daisy Ridley as Anette
Shazad Latif as Ben
Matilda Lutz as Alicia
Director: Sam Yates

The main thing I knew about Magpie going in was that it was a thriller starring Daisy Ridley and that it was good. I’m glad I went in not knowing too much about it, it was a very solid movie.

When it comes to describing Magpie in terms of genres, I would say that it is a psychological thriller which starts as a melancholic domestic drama until it becomes something else. It has a tense atmosphere and is engrossing throughout, and has a fair number of twists. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but still efficient at around 90 minutes in length. At a certain point towards the second half, I was able to figure out where everything was leading. However, it still concluded very well and it was cathartic and satisfying to watch play out nonetheless.

In the lead role, Daisy Ridley is fantastic and delivers one of her best performances. The movie delves into her character’s headspace, mindset, struggles and pain, and Ridley brings it out in such a believable and captivating way. The rest of the cast are also good in their parts, especially Matilda Lutz.

This is Sam Yates’s directorial debut, and he’s done some great work here. It’s very stylish; visually beautiful with good lighting and camerawork, and accompanied by an unsettling score which adds to the uneasy feeling throughout the movie.

Magpie is a well directed, clever, and twisty psychological thriller with an incredible lead performance from Daisy Ridley.