Kristen Stewart's adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir, The Chronology of Water, begins with a bang and never lets up. Sometimes this hyperkinetic approach can be a good thing; but alas, in this case, it is not. The movie introduces (well, sort of) Lidia, played by Imogen Poots, as a physically bruised and bloodied heroine whose life is 90% pain and suffering, and the rest masturbation and shaving of her pubes. Scenes unfold way too quickly, and before we can make sense of what we've just seen, we're already onto to the next one, where more physical and mental anguish are front and center.
Lidia is abused by her father, impregnated too early by a musician boyfriend, and eventually dedicates her life to writing, becoming a teacher in the Pacific Northwest. Despite the actress' courageous turn, the movie never slows down enough to lets us identify with her plight. Stewart directs with the frantic pace of someone who only has an hour to tell Lidia's entire story, when, in fact, she has more than two hours of screen time to work with. The style becomes exhausting quickly, feeling as if the whole thing is moving with someone's thumb on the fast-forward button.
The Chronology of Water is one of the most ambitious failures of 2025. Poots' performance deserves a more patient directorial approach, instead of the breakneck pace that Stewart provided for her.
☆
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