Ellis Barthorpe
Fresh ★★★
Mimi Cave
Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jonica T. Gibbs, Dayo Okeniyi, Charlotte Le Bon

Mimi Cave brings us a thrilling tale to make any foodie feel a bit queasy. This romantic-comedy has a chilling message at its centre, and that makes it rather difficult to review.
There are many enigmatic things at play as we meet Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones and The Winter Soldier himself Sebastian Stan. As the two are acquainted in the fruit & veg aisle of a supermarket, the relationship works just as strongly as you'd hope. The key to a great romance is the dynamic and chemistry of the leading pair, and there's no doubting the energy here. But you feel a constant underlying sense of dread.
Not least because the film's poster shows a severed hand in some vacuum-packed packaging; or that the film is labelled as a thriller, but also because of the misogynistic, sexist date that takes place in the film's opening minutes. You want something to go well for Noa (Edgar-Jones) and that is why (perhaps foolishly) you fall into their blossoming relationship.
The performances are excellent, both actors finding nuance throughout, and there are some very effective needle drops that juxtapose the film's dark nature. But somehow the opening pre-credits scene (that's about half an hour long) is the movie we care about, the rest is super disturbing yet still constantly intriguing.
Fresh available now on Disney+