To a certain extent, even if one hasn’t actually seen the film adaptation of Elizabeth Jolley’s novel The Well, they have seen it. Not relative to the actual plot or narrative action, of course, but in terms of the structure of the story having been repeated so often enough by this point that it has become something of a mini-sub-genre. What we have is essentially another interpretation of the claustrophobic, two-person character study that pursues themes through oppositional juxtaposition. Typically, these movies will feature one character who is outgoing and extroverted while the other is introspective and introverted. The stories tend to focus the psychological concept of repression with both characters struggling to deal with sexual attraction to the other which stimulates anxiety and emotional trauma. And, of course, there is almost always going to be a structural divide in which one character is endowed with leverage over the other leading a narrative trek which either results in a flipping of these roles or a contestation to keep the status quo.
When thinking of The Well, one has a wealth of films to choose from with which to pair for an interesting double feature: Ingmar Bergman’s Persona is one of the definitive examples of this particular mini-genre. The 1965 British adaptation of John Fowles’ novel The Collector offers considerably more action, male/female relationship and color. A more recent example actually reverts back to black and white in the breathtaking cinematography which now offers viewers a male/male dynamic in The Lighthouse from 2019.
None of these four films—and it should be noted that a wealth of alternative choices covering the same territory are available—tell anything even close to the same story, plot-wise. The Well is much more of a traditional thriller than any of the others while Persona is essentially without any plot to speak off. Regardless of the fact that The Well is propelled by the ever-increasing tension caused by the introduction of a third character that prompts a much more traditional dramatic pivot in the storyline than most films of this nature, however, it is not really that plot twist which becomes the focus of direction and audience attention. These claustrophobic explorations of the complex interrelationships between two people which serve as allegory for analyses of power structures, repressed sexuality, and personality dynamics generally focus their cinematic techniques upon the establishment and maintenance of tone and mood. Thus, impressive cinematography which all by itself makes The Lighthouse work viewing takes precedence over a logical linear progression of time and space. Likewise, the blue filter which corrupts the natural lighting and color spectrum one expects to see throughout The Well (and which does, admittedly, carry the potential of becoming an irritant for some viewers) trumps the need to offer a satisfying clear and unambiguous conclusion. On the other hand,
The Well very much shares one particular aspect of visual storytelling with both Persona and The Lighthouse. All three films set up their story with what can generously be called a leisurely pace. (The less-than-generous descriptive term would be tedious.) Because these films and others like them (even The Collector to a certain extent) are more concerned with establishing themes and exploring them in detail than telling a story through action, the pacing is almost always slower than normal. The Well follows this template to the latter by taking its time in establishing the specific nature of the relationship between its two major characters, Hester and Katherine. Because the last half of the film will lose much of its meaning if the audience is fully aware of the nuance of the relationship between these two women, the first half must take whatever time is necessary to fill in the gaps. And this is done with the techniques of editorial decision-making. Namely, pointing the camera at exactly what the director wants the audience to focus on: a glance, a pause, a hesitation, a flicker of understanding in the eyes.
The Well is most certainly a thriller, of course, and as such tension tightens as the story unfurls. But the filmmakers also make another editorial choice having nothing to do with cinematic technique. The ending is slightly altered to make things a little less ambiguous without entirely making an accusation of guilt which is completely absent in the original source material. Without that final assertive punctuation offered with full clarity and eschewing reasonable doubt, the focus remains on tone, mood and atmosphere.
