“Swallow” Is a Graphic Discovery of Control and Female Empowerment

Emphasis on the graphic part.

Haley Bennett as Hunter in “Swallow” / IFC FILMS

In the nauseating psychodrama “Swallow,” Hunter (Haley Bennett) is a pregnant housewife who develops a craving for inedible, life-threatening objects as the isolating and controlling environment created by her husband Richie (Austin Stowell) and his parents eat at her.

I had two questions as I started watching: How will I be able to stomach this? And, how has writer and director Carlo Mirabella-Davis created a 95-minute film out of this concept? While I could barely look at the screen as she struggles to get a thumbtack down, I was captivated by how the film played out to be a story of female empowerment.

Hunter looks as if she stepped out of the 50s with the kitten heels, swing dresses and pearls she wears as she vacuums her impeccable home. While Richie works, that is where she passes her time all day by playing games on her smartphone, which pulls you back into a contemporary vision. In a dinner scene early on, Hunter is ignored by Richie and his parents and she resorts to abruptly chewing on ice to ground herself. Shortly after, she swallows a marble, followed by a thumbtack, a battery and increasingly dangerous items.

She is diagnosed with Pica, a disorder in which someone craves and eats non-food items. It is clear that as she chooses larger, sharper objects to swallow, the more in control and proud she is — for a brief moment. She is so elegant that I was almost rooting for the serenity she feels in her quiet home during these moments, no matter how gut-wrenching her secret is.

Hunter is so genuine, sweet and heartbreaking that it is as easy to connect with her as it is to a real person. No questions about what led her to this point went unanswered as her family history unravels with her. This film will continue to surprise you as she breaks away from her husband and isolation. A film that began with extreme discomfort beautifully transformed into a film about the strength of women, closure and hope, and left me feeling content for hours after it ended.

You can stream “Swallow” on Amazon Prime Video.