Swallow (film)

Hunter, a young woman from a lower working-class family in upstate New York has recently married Richie, a man from a wealthy family who is set to take over as CEO of his father's Manhattan corporation. This affords Hunter, once an aspiring illustrator, the ability to stay at home in the couple's lavish upstate home on the Hudson River. Despite this, Hunter finds herself increasingly emotionally stifled and isolated in both her marriage and domestic life, and finds Richie distant and inconsiderate toward her. One day while home alone, Hunter develops the impulse to eat a marble, and musters the courage to do so. She finds it exhilarating, and begins to consume other inedible objects around the house, including thumbtacks, metal figurines, and batteries. Each item she swallows, once digested, she meticulously cleans and arranges on her vanity.

After Hunter finds out she is pregnant, she and Richie visit the hospital for a routine ultrasound, during which the technician notices an anomaly in Hunter's abdomen. She is rushed in for emergency surgery to remove a variety of objects trapped in her intestine. After the surgery, Hunter is diagnosed with pica, a psychological disorder that propels individuals to eat inedible objects. Richie's parents, Katherine and Michael, arrange for her to see a psychiatrist in the city. During her therapy sessions, Hunter slowly divulges her attraction to consuming the objects, which she mainly says has to do with their textures.

At the behest of his parents, Richie hires Luay, a family friend and immigrant from Syria, to monitor Hunter while he is at work during the day. Hunter, feeling increasingly smothered, is initially hostile toward Luay, who dismisses her mental illness as resulting from her privileged life. Despite the external efforts to stop it, Hunter continues to covertly consume objects. Through her continued therapy sessions, Hunter eventually reveals that she was not raised by her biological father and in fact never met him - though she knows his name and keeps a picture of him in her wallet. She tells her psychiatrist that her mother was raped by a strange man she met in a bar one night; this resulted in Hunter's conception. The rapist was caught and served time in prison for the crime. When her doctor asks if Hunter's mother ever considered terminating the pregnancy, she explains that her mother is very religious and does not believe in abortion even in cases of incest or rape.

While gardening one afternoon, Hunter overhears Richie speaking with her psychiatrist on the phone, and realizes Richie has financially bribed her doctor to reveal the content of her and Hunter's sessions. This sends her into a panic, and, when Richie leaves the house, Hunter swallows a miniature screwdriver she finds in the kitchen. Luay finds her choking violently, and phones emergency services. After undergoing surgery to remove the screwdriver, Michael and Katherine arrange to have Hunter committed to a psychiatric hospital for the next seven months, until she delivers her baby, threatening that Richie will divorce her otherwise. Hunter agrees, but before they are to leave, Hunter returns inside with Luay, saying she forgot her cell phone charger. Luay, who has warmed to Hunter, allows her to flee into the woods, and stages it to appear as though she covertly escaped from the bathroom window.

Hunter hitchhikes to a motel, and calls Richie, who begs her to return. She explains to him that she rushed into their marriage and her pregnancy to make him happy. When she refuses to come back, he chastises her for being an "ungrateful cunt." Hunter smashes her cell phone, and spends the rest of the night watching television and eating soil she obtained from outside. The next day, Hunter hitchhikes to the home of her biological father, a man named William Erwin. She enters his home, where he and his wife, Lucy, are having a birthday party for their daughter. They assume Hunter is the parent of one of their daughter's friends, but Hunter privately reveals her true identity to William. During an emotional conversation, William professes his shame for what he did, and Hunter asks him if he is ashamed of her, and if she is like him, to which he responds no.

Having obtained closure from her visit with William, Hunter visits a clinic and is prescribed medication to induce an abortion. She takes the pills while eating lunch in a shopping mall cafeteria, and has the abortion in the mall bathroom.

• Haley Bennett as Hunter Conrad
• Austin Stowell as Richie Conrad
• Elizabeth Marvel as Katherine Conrad
• David Rasche as Michael Conrad
• Denis O'Hare as William Erwin
• Lauren Vélez as Lucy
• Zabryna Guevara as Alice
• Laith Nakli as Luay
• Babak Tafti as Aaron
• Nicole Kang as Bev

In September 2016, it was announced Carlo Mirabella-Davis would direct the film, from a screenplay he wrote. Mynette Louie, Mollye Asher will produce the film, while Syncopated Films and Standalone Productions will also produce the film.[3][4][5] In May 2018, Haley Bennett, Austin Stowell, Elizabeth Marvel, David Rasche, and Denis O'Hare joined the cast of the film. Carole Baraton, Frédéric Fiore will produce the film, under their Charades and Logical Pictures banners, respectively. Joe Wright, Bennett, Constantin Briest, Johann Comte, Pierre Mazars, Eric Tavitian and Sam Bisbee, will executive produce the film.[6][7]

Swallow had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28, 2019.[11] Shortly after, IFC Films acquired US distribution rights to the film.[12] It was released in France on January 15, 2020, by UFO Distribution,[13] and in the United States on March 6, 2020.[14] It was tied for the highest-grossing film in America for the week of April 17, 2020, grossing $2,490, with a total of $31,646 in its seven-week run up until that point.[15]

• Swallow on IMDb
• Swallow at Rotten Tomatoes
• Swallow at Metacritic