The Party's Just Beginning

The Party's Just Beginning is a 2018 comedy-drama film written and directed by Karen Gillan. It stars Gillan, Lee Pace, Matthew Beard, Paul Higgins and Siobhan Redmond.

The Party's Just Beginning
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKaren Gillan
Produced by
  • Mali Elfman
  • R. Andru Davies
  • Claire Mundell
Written byKaren Gillan
Starring
Music byPepijn Caudron
CinematographyEdd Lukas
Edited byBrett W. Bachman
Production
companies
  • Mt. Hollywood Films
  • Synchronicity Films
Distributed by
  • The Orchard (United States)
  • Blue Finch Film Releasing (United Kingdom)
Release date
  • 24 February 2018 (2018-02-24) (Glasgow Film Festival)
  • 7 December 2018 (2018-12-07) (United States)
  • 1 December 2019 (2019-12-01) (United Kingdom)
Running time
91 minutes
Country
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4,371[1]

The film had its world premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival on 24 February 2018. It was released in the United States on 7 December 2018 by The Orchard and in the United Kingdom on 1 December 2019 by Blue Finch Film Releasing.

Plot

Liusaidh is a 24-year-old woman from Inverness, Scotland. Stuck in a dead-end job selling cheese at a supermarket, she spends her evenings binge drinking and engaging in casual sex with strangers. These behaviours are coping mechanisms she has adopted to deal with the suicide of her best friend, Alistair, who died by jumping off a bridge in front of a train almost a year earlier. Throughout the film, Liusaidh keeps flashing back to the previous year with Alistair.

Liusaidh meets a stranger at a bar and has sex with him. To her surprise, he tracks her down and the two have a few more trysts before he informs her that he is returning home.

Walking home at night after another night out, Liusaidh passes the bridge where Alistair committed suicide. She is surprised to see the stranger there, apparently about to kill himself, and she manages to talk him down. The two spend time together and though Liusaidh asks him to stay, he decides to leave, this time for real. Before he does Liusaidh tells him her name, and he tells her that his name is Dale.

Liusaidh is fired from her job after she misses several days of work, and spirals further out of control. On Christmas, the anniversary of Alistair's death, she blacks out and is raped by three men. She goes home to see her mother still socializing with her friends. On the phone she talks to the unnamed old man she has been talking to throughout the film, who abandoned his children after his wife died. She opens up about what happened and cries. Her father overhears the conversation, and when she tries to leave for the night he tries to talk to her. She goes to the spot where Alistair died and decides to end her own life. But she eventually changes her mind and decides to move on. She goes home to see her parents. She calls her friend to reconcile, and decides to try to lead a normal life.

Cast

Production

In November 2016, it was announced Karen Gillan would direct, write, and star in her first directorial feature film titled Tupperware Party. Mali Elfman, Tien Huei Grace Yeh and Claire Mundell, serving as producers on the film, while R. Andre Davies, Albert Davies, Albert Gersten and Sloan Martin serve as executive producers under their Mt. Hollywood Films banner.[2] In January 2017, Lee Pace, Matthew Beard, Paul Higgins and Siobhan Redmond joined the cast of the film.[3][4][5] Kreng composed the film's score.[6] The film was shot in January and February 2017,[7][8] and the title was changed from Tupperware Party to The Party's Just Beginning.[6]

Release

The Party's Just Beginning premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival on 24 February 2018.[9] The film had its American premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on 22 April 2018.[10] Shortly after, The Orchard acquired distribution rights to the film.[11] It received a limited theatrical release in the United States on 7 December 2018, followed by a video-on-demand (VOD) release on 11 December.[12] In the United Kingdom, the film was released theatrically on 1 December 2019 and on VOD on 11 December by Blue Finch Film Releasing.[13][14]

Reception

The Party's Just Beginning holds a 77% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 22 reviews, and an average rating of 6.43/10.[15] The website's critical consensus reads, "The Party's Just Beginning takes a bravely unorthodox dive into difficult themes – and proves writer, director, and star Karen Gillan is a filmmaker to be reckoned with." On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, signifying "generally favorable reviews".[16]

In September 2020, the Inverness Courier reported that a student from Inverness was selected in a competition inspired by The Party's Just Beginning to go to New York Fashion Week, held by Mikeysline and Fashion Week Online, in a contest meant to create awareness for World Suicide Prevention Day.[17][18]

Accolades
Year Award Category Recipients Result Ref.
2018 Bafta Awards Scotland Best Feature Film The Party's Just Beginning Nominated [19][20]
British Independent Film Awards Best Debut Screenwriter Karen Gillan Nominated [21]
Glasgow Film Festival Audience Award Karen Gillan Nominated [22]
Philadelphia Film Festival Archee Award – Best First Feature Karen Gillan Nominated [23]

References
  1. "The Party's Just Beginning". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  2. McNary, Dave (2 November 2016). "Karen Gillan to Make Directorial Debut With 'Tupperware Party' Movie for Mt. Hollywood Films". Variety. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  3. Parfitt, Orlando (18 January 2017). "Karen Gillan updates on directing debut, Lee Pace joins cast". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  4. McLean, Pauline (8 February 2018). "Gillan returns to Scotland with new film". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  5. Ritman, Alex (20 January 2017). "Karen Gillan Talks Directing Debut, 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' and That 'Jumanji' Outfit (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  6. "Kreng Scoring Karen Gillan's 'The Party's Just Beginning'". Film Music Reporter. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  7. "Karen Gillan on Tupperware Party, Inverness and Avengers". BBC. 17 January 2017. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017.
  8. "Karen Gillan on Instagram". Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017 – via Instagram. That's a wrap on Tupperware Party! I am so amazed by every single one of our cast and crew. We had a bloody good laugh and made something really special. Thanks to everyone involved. #tupperwarepartymovie #filmmaking @malielfman @clairey1111
  9. "Star-studded line-up for Film Festival". BBC News. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  10. "The Party's Just Beginning". Tribeca Film Festival. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  11. D'Alessandro, Anthony (9 July 2018). "Karen Gillan's Directorial Debut 'The Party's Just Beginning' Sprouts At The Orchard". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  12. Nolfi, Joey (12 November 2018). "The Party's Just Beginning trailer: Marvel star Karen Gillan gets dark in directorial debut". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  13. Beasley, Tom (29 November 2019). "Karen Gillan praises James Gunn's 'wonderful' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 script (exclusive)". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  14. "The Party's Just Beginning". Blue Finch Film Releasing. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  15. "The Party's Just Beginning (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  16. https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-partys-just-beginning/
  17. https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/world-of-international-fashion-to-raise-awareness-of-inverness-mental-health-charity-championed-by-hollywood-actress-karen-gillan-205395/
  18. https://fashionweekonline.com/fwo-x-mikeysline-fashion-design-competition
  19. "British Academy Scotland Awards: Winners in 2018". 25 September 2018. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  20. Dalton, Ben. "'Calibre' leads BAFTA Scotland nominations". Screen. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  21. "Winners and Nominations – BIFA Awards 2018". Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  22. "Glassgow Film Festival Awards 2018". Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  23. "27th Philadelphia Film Festival Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 29 February 2020.
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