Ben (Shazad Latif) and Annette (Daisy Ridley) are a married couple whose life becomes problematic after their daughter's participation in a movie leads to controversial star Alicia (Matilda Lutz) becoming an important part of their lives.
Based on an original idea by Daisy Ridley, Magpie is directed by Sam Yates and written by Tom Bateman. The movie offers a polished cinematography with muted tones and locations that speak of tasteful visual choices, where the often close-up shots with the actors looking at the camera add to the dramatic expressiveness of the story.
And while at its core a marital thriller, it touches upon different thematically broad topics such as gender roles, parenthood, and adultery. Alicia is not only the star of the movie they are making; she is also at the core of their new family dynamics, where the past, like it happens in reality, differs according to who you listen to. Matilda Lutz brings unforeseen consequences that disrupt their seemingly idyllic life in the isolated modern house they inhabit.
Sam Yates's feature successfully portrays families as something far away from the idealized version people often have. In Magpie, families are nothing but sites of oppression limiting their members to fully realize their desires and be happy. It is a movie not only engaging but also profound in its treatment of psychological anxiety and how suffocating a marriage can be. If matrimony is a closed door offering its contract-bound members security as a mirage, then it is only natural that in such a suffocating space some will want to open the door.
