Rent In Fabric (2018)

Strange - In Fabric review by CP Customer

This film had a very eerie quality and

was interesting if not very clear where it was going. I would have iked to see more of the origin of the shop and its assistants, but it left you hanging. Perhaps that was the idea?

Pretty Weak Material - In Fabric review by porky

Interesting Idea, Great Story, I loved that we Follow a Single Garment through different Owners ,Sadly Its Very Badly Put Together .

Long drawn out pauses ,Far Too Slow Story Development ,Irritatingly Slow at Every Turn.

Interesting Set of Characters ,but Wasted on an Overly Arty-Farty Production that Killed the Comedy or the Horror .

Loved the Idea ,I just couldn't sit through it all again if you paid me . Tediously ,Tooth Achingly Slow .

Argento meets Leigh (mild spoilers)! - In Fabric review by NP

A haunted dress, then. That’s the star of this strange story – not entirely serious, quite satirical in places, featuring great character studies, but ultimately a disappointment.

This is set in an unspecific period, although the grotesque adverts that occasionally flash across television sets is distinctly early 80s. The styles employed by the staff at the clothes emporium have a 1920s severity about them.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste is great as Jill, a normal, cheerful woman who surrounds herself mostly with deeply unpleasant people. Two of her managers at work, wonderfully played by Julian Barrett and Steve Oram, provide the kind of caustic ridiculousness only employers can provide. Her real troubles begin, though, when she is sold the dress from a department store straight out of a Dario Argento film.

The next person to inherit the dress, albeit somewhat unlikely, is Reg Speaks (Leo Bill), a washing machine repairer. He could have been a Mike Leigh caricature and seems a little out of place compared with the wondrous ordinariness of Sheila.

My problems with this eccentric piece is that none of the characters’ stories are resolved – far from it, in fact, which seems to be deliberate. I found that lack of closure deeply frustrating, a perversion too far. When the sudden ending brought the curtain down, I was left with the feeling that this was very nearly a surreal success – but not quite. 7 out of 10.

Not for me - In Fabric review by mK

I like odd off the wall films, but this one was too much for me. I did watch  it to the end, but couldn’t recommend it to anyone. The plot is so episodic it becomes boring.

Another film director amusing himself - In Fabric review by SE

I thought I liked wacky, off the wall, artistic stuff but this was a bridge too far. It's point was beyond me. I especially couldn't understand the somewhat robotic sales assistant who appeared to be speaking in tongues. I'll admit there were some great comedy turns and some wonderfullly lugubrious filming. Maybe you just have to love it for that and stop trying to see a message.

Predictable, annoying and clichéd - In Fabric review by AD

This is a film that could have come out of some third rate art student’s portfolio. It has a Blair Witch energy that does not endear. Somebody is trying too hard to be arty-farty and clever but fails. Some good actors frankly wasted their talents here with a director who has had an imagination lobotomy. Avoid.

Tries to be so much more than the sum of its parts - In Fabric review by Dr Waerdnotte

I have enjoyed a couple of Strickland's movies but this falls into the category of "strange and extremely silly". The best thing to come out of this is the eerily hypnotic acting of Fatma Mohammed, who along with Jean-Baptiste carries much of the movie. Julian Barrett plays the funny man, but his role seems rather at odds with the eccentric horror style of the movie. The episodic nature of the story brings to mind the tableau movies Hammer released in 60s and 70s, but the pacing of the three parts is rather skewed. Stricklands style is heavy on the animation and retro feel - colouring and props have that early 70s browny orange glow. Much xof the time it felt like watching an art installation rather than a movie, and I think Strickland had forgotten that it helps to make a movie that entertains.

So, worth a watch, but don't expect to be thrilled.