Shoshana

Michael Winterbottom’s latest film depicts the real-life journey of the socialist Zionist writer Shoshana Borochov. Reaching adulthood living in British-controlled 1930s Palestine, Shoshana (Irina Starshenbaum) develops a deep and enduring romantic connection with Thomas Wilkin (Douglas Booth), a British police officer tasked with maintaining impartiality and order in a growingly fractured and militant region. With terrorist groups causing explosions across Tel Aviv, both Shoshana and Thomas experience first-hand how violence and political extremism begin to operate in normal citizens’ lives, seemingly with no end or resolution.

Shoshana is primarily a love story set in a historical period that is even more significant and relevant today than ever. The Israeli/Palestine conflict could not be more topical and Winterbottom has again proved his will and desire to tackle a subject that truly interests him as he returns to the political thriller genre. What Shoshana offers is an education into a period of the conflict’s history, where British relations and presence in the controlled Palestine region were reaching a climax.

The relationship between Shoshana and Wilkin, based in fact, mirrors the complexity of the environment they must navigate, and their love story becomes lost in a tumultuous and political landscape, making for very compelling viewing. Winterbottom has created a movie that sees the Look of Hollywood meet the Middle East as the British patrol the streets of controlled Palestine, well-kept in 1930s suits, while the Israelis and Palestinians race around the streets of Tel Aviv.

Harry Melling plays the most villainous member of the cast in Geoffrey Morton, a colonial policeman known for his brutal methods and hard-fist interpretation of the law. Morton locked his place in history as the man who killed Lehi gang leader Avraham Stern under suspicious circumstances, and Melling’s cold, dead-eyed stare brings the ruthlessness of the character to life with chilling effect, albeit a little too hard-nosed. Booth is cool, calm and collected as well as suave as the unwavering Wilkin, but the disappointing element lies with the application of Shoshana; although the title character, her story is very cauterised, subdued and replaced by the escapes of Booth and Melling. Starshenbaum learned Hebrew for the role and has the most exciting on-screen presence, but it feels as though she is underutilised due to the lack of commitment from Winterbottom to one leading character.

The feature fleetingly travels across several different genres, which, while it has its benefits, leads to some storylines being undercooked. Winterbottom has taken a complex bit of history and made it more understandable. Although the director is not afraid to try something different, through trying to do too much he has created a biopic that is crying out to say more, rather than simply retell historical events.

Guy Lambert

Shoshana is released in select cinemas on 23^rd February 2024.

Watch the trailer for Shoshana here: