After watching her bold and impressive performance in The Tudors series, I became a fan of Natalie Dormer. It had been a while I'd seen her on screen but once I sighted the film poster for The Wasp (2024) and her lovely face staring back at me from it, I didn't think twice about watching this recent release.
Revenge is a very powerful force especially if it's been cooking in the oven for a very long time. This sums up the twisted British psychological thriller directed by Guillem Morales.
The Wasp focuses on two women who went to middle school together but things didn't turn out well between them. Heather (played by Naomie Harris) is married, childless and unhappy. It seems her husband is cheating on her. In her desperation, she reaches out to Carla (played by Natalie Dormer) whom she had not spoken to for many years.
Carla lives in the slums with her four children and pregnant with the fifth, works as a cashier and is in urgent need of rent money because her unemployed husband had gambled it all away. She receives a text from Heather but hesitates to respond. When she finally replies and they meet up, Heather makes her a proposition that was too tempting to refuse.
What was supposed to be a sort of reunion quickly turns into something dark, insane and unforgettable. Will Carla take Heather up on her offer?
Review
This psycho-thriller truly blew me away. I applaud the screenwriters and director for a job well done. The plot is good but the storytelling is even better. The pace is slow at the beginning as the audience is inundated with clues about the characters. Somewhere in the middle of the film, the pieces begin to fall into place, the motive of the characters becoming clear but the ending uncertain. Then the film creators give us a most unpredictable ending that makes our jaws drop in shock.
This film is all about two main characters who are polar opposites — one is wealthy and comfortable while the other struggles to make ends meet, even sleeping around to feed her family. I commend how the contrasts between these two are presented for the audience to make their judgement. Believe me, it's a hard one. I'm sympathetic towards both of them but wish Dormer's character, Carla, had done better as a teenager.
Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer deliver impressive performances, singly and together. They embody their characters so well that the tension and suspense are palpable. Noami Harris' character reminds me of Amy Dune in the psycho-thriller Gone Girl who appears harmless but a lot is cooking in her head. No one sees her coming until she delivers a terrible sting, just like the wasp.
Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer lead the audience to think it's about one thing and in a blink quickly change gears and we are left wondering if it's about something else. The unexpected twists are good.
The cinematography and transitions are excellent. I admire how the creators gradually unfold the story, guiding the audience through the characters’ past and present in smooth transitions, which deepens the emotional impact of the film's message.
Overall, The Wasp deserves some accolades for the wild twists and exceptional actors’ performance in my opinion. I'll recommend it to thriller fans—it's a film worth watching. I give it 4 stars out of 5.
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Other images are screenshots from the movie
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