The latest work from Spanish-born director Guillem Morales (Julia’s Eyes) begins as a domestic drama with Heather (Naomie Harris) engaged in an almost psychotic war with the occasional wasp that invades her kitchen, and she can’t figure out how they’re getting in. But as we learn during the course of The Wasp, Heather always finds a way to achieve her goal. The opening sequence culminates with her smashing her ceiling open and discovering the source of her infestation; the only problem is, this occurs during an important dinner party that her husband Simon (Dominic Allburn) is throwing for his most important clients. And now wasps are filling their kitchen at an alarming rate.
With a screenplay by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (based on her 2015 play), The Wasp then continues when Heather reaches out to old school friend Carla (Natalie Dormer), saying she wants to meet to catch up. But the two didn’t exactly leave school on the best of terms, so Carla is confused about the reason for the somewhat clandestine meeting. Heather reveals that a memory she holds onto of Carla as a girl killing a hurt animal in the woods is the reason she reached out, because she needs that same cold-blooded attitude to help her kill Simon for cheating on her. Heather will pay handsomely, and she knows Carla needs the money, especially since she’s pregnant with no father in sight, and she has another child back home.
Since their school days, these two women’s lives took decidedly different turns, with Heather marrying well and Carla staying decidedly working class. I was once told by a noted British filmmaker that all British films are about class, and The Wasp is a prime example of that even when it veers down a decidedly different path once Carla agrees to the murder for hire. The next time they meet, it’s at Heather’s home so they can finalize their plan and Carla can get a good idea of where in the house the killing will take place. They argue about staging the death to look like a robbery gone wrong, but Heather doesn’t like the idea of anything going missing to sell the story; Carla sees a few lost trinkets as collateral damage. These minute details are a big reason the film works so well, in addition to the two tremendous lead performances.
I won’t say more about the plot, but things take an unexpected turn fairly soon after the details of the plan are hatched, and the ending is about as cold-hearted and calculated as anything I’ve seen this year from a crime drama like The Wasp. Harris plays Heather as someone she hopes people will underestimate—it makes them suspect she’s less capable to do what she does in this movie. Dormer’s Carla may be desperate, but that doesn’t mean she’ll put on a polite face to make a few dollars. She’s a nasty piece of work, which is exactly what Heather is counting on. If the plan goes right, their lives change forever; if it doesn’t, we’re not exactly sure what happens, and that’s where the real fun comes to light. The Wasp is smart, cunning, dangerous, and delightfully twisted in ways you likely won’t see coming. If you’re in Chicago, you’ll have to drive to the suburbs to catch this one, but I think it’s worth the journey.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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