There
is a long tradition of horse fantasies, but the world of Anmaere is nothing
like Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar novels. It is more of a dystopia, particularly
the city of Whithren, whose closest Earthly cousin could be Valletta (sadly for
Malta). The city combines elements of the Medieval and post-industrial periods,
but it is the surrounding coastland and moors that are important, because that
is where the wild horses are wrangled. Those beasts are worth a great deal of
money, but the opportunity they represent is even more valuable in director-screenwriter
Nicholas Ashe Bateman’s The Wanting Mare, executive-produced by Shane
Carruth, which screens (virtually) as part of the (online) 2020 Chattanooga Film Festival.
Anmaere
is our world, but not. Moira is of Anmaere, but it is not her world either. She
grew up as an orphan, without anyone to explain the inherited nightmares passed
on down to her from her biological mother and her grandmother before her. Since
she has always felt a stranger in her own land, she is determined to somehow
secure passage on the annual steamer ship transporting Whithren’s yearly horse
exports to the more temperate and economically developed city of Levithen.
When
Moira stumbles across Lawrence, a wounded young thug, she believes she may have
found someone who can secure her passage to the West. However, instead of a ticket,
he delivers into her hands a foundling, who will play a significant role in the
second years-later half of the film.
Wanting
Mare spans
decades, but it is not exactly a plot-heavy film. Admittedly, Bateman struggles
somewhat in his maiden feature outing as a story-teller, but he has a remarkable
talent as a world-builder. Whithren of Anmaere is one of the few movie
dystopias that actually feels like a real place you could walk around and
explore. Bateman and his effects and design team pull off plenty of tricks to
make locations around Baltimore, East Orange, and Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia look
like an otherworldly realm of urban blight and ancient back alleys, while cinematographer
David A. Ross makes it all shimmer ominously and evocatively.
Frankly,
the style and heavy atmosphere of Wanting Mare largely overwhelms the
younger thesps, but Josh Clark and Christine Kellogg-Darrin develop some
smoldering chemistry together as the older Moira and Lawrence. Arguably, their bittersweet
third act connection redeems the less-focused mid-section.
Visually,
Wanting Mare is an arresting film, but the narrative leaves viewers
wanting more. Still, considering how effectively Bateman transports us to this
alternate-fantasy world, we would take the return trip. Recommended for cult
films fans interested in new filmmaking talent, The Wanting Mare screens
virtually (5/22-5/25) during this year’s Chattanooga Film Festival.
