MANIFF 2021: Trouble Will Find Us

The winner of ‘Best British Film’, Trouble Will Find Us, follows a changing relationship. Over a span of two years, we see differing moments from a couple’s first flirtations to the toxicity that remains.

Director and writer Alexander Milo Bischof offers an array of well thought-out frames and moments as the pair struggle through the mundanity of life, finding it hard to understand each other’s perspective.

The writing is honest and takes on a raw, naturalistic quality. In the beginning, I felt the awkwardness was uncalled for. However, as the film started to unfold, so did causes of laughter, which came with a great sigh of relief.

The film is beautifully curated. Through the use of static shots Bischof creates a cinematic dream, utilising balanced colour palettes and unique angles. Each shot is a moment of stillness in time, the happiest moment of the couple’s first kiss, or a strained car journey of winding country roads and heavy exasperated sighs.

Both Ruth Kearney, playing Tess, and Dylan Edwards, playing Henry, give unaffected and true-to-life performances. I do think that there was a greater development of Henry’s character – this might be a sympathy for the life of the artist from Bischof. However, the brutal demise of their relationship was shown beautifully through weighted silences and spiteful glares. The score seemed to aid the journey through the tumult of the couple’s relationship.

By using uplifting indie tracks, small worlds are created, in which the characters are inclined to dance. The heart-wrenching rendition of ‘Loser’ by The Travelling Band perfectly reflected Henry’s emotion, his inadequacy, and insecurity, and offered a melancholic and withering representation of the couple’s relationship.

Overall, Trouble Will Find Us is a tragic tale of miscommunication and misunderstanding, posed in an abstract and artistic formation of moments through time. 

4/5.

Trouble Will Find Us premiered at Manchester International Film Festival on the 13th of March and went on to win ‘Best British Film’ in the ManIFF awards.