Set in an impressively realised world, Nicholas Ashe Bateman’s ambitious debut looks the part but moves too quickly and confusingly for viewers to connect
Nicholas Ashe Bateman’s ambitious debut breaks away from the recent crop of fantasy epics based on existing materials. A mass of tangled storylines spanning decades envelops Anmaere, a post-apocalyptic world containing two cities named Whithren and Levithen, both of which are in a perpetual state of stagnancy. The citizens of the sweltering Whithren dream of escaping to Levithen, a journey made possible only by earning a coveted ticket on one of the ferries that transport horses to the elusive, snow-capped land.
Despite Withren’s industrial griminess, the sun once shone on this forsaken land. Memories of better days haunt the city’s inmates – even those who were born after the mysterious events that cast Anmaere into darkness, the details of which are never specified. And while The Wanting Mare is able to create spectacular visuals out of limited means – it was largely shot in a New Jersey warehouse – the weak script offers little of emotional substance, as it haphazardly jumps from one character to another. Barely any time is paid to the doomed romance between Moira (Ashleigh Nutt), an orphaned loner, and Lawrence (played by Bateman himself), a wounded thief, before the film fast-forwards to the former’s children, who are struggling to break free decades later.