Cordelia is a psychological thriller about a young woman who comes to London as an actress and rents a basement apartment with her twin sister, Caroline, and Caroline’s boyfriend Matt. In the beginning, it is discovered that Cordelia has been through something traumatic in the past, although the audience doesn’t know what it is. Nevertheless, it affects her in everything she does, and you can’t help but believe it won’t take much for her to unravel.
All we know is that her “incident” happened on The Tube, but we know little else. Cordelia is shy and inhibited, while her sister Caroline is outgoing and showy, always dressed up with her hair and nails done. When Caroline and Matt leave for the weekend, Cordelia finds herself alone in the house. The only thing she has to keep her company is the sound of her upstairs neighbor playing his cello. Soon, Cordelia and her neighbor, Frank, are hanging out together.
All seems to be going well but when they decide to stop for coffee in SoHo one day, Frank starts to act a little odd. Suddenly, it is his behavior – not Cordelia’s – that seems to be a little suspect. Also, when Cordelia and Caroline have a conversation, you can’t help but think that one of them might be dreamed up by the other one. In fact, a lot of scenes in the movie look like dream sequences, so you sometimes wonder if the scenes are actually happening.
Although the audience never finds out exactly what the “incident” is that Cordelia went through, it’s obvious that it affects her character in some pretty bizarre ways. After her sister and boyfriend leave, things quickly unravel for Cordelia. The problem is, the ending of the movie is an odd one and difficult to understand. It almost feels like the movie ends simply because it’s time for it to end, not because they want us to have a feeling of completion. That being said, it is still an enjoyable and electrifying movie.
Here are some of the main cast and characters in Cordelia:
Antonia Campbell-Hughes (Cordelia)
Cordelia is an enigma in many ways. She suffered through some sort of trauma on The Tube, even though the movie doesn’t say much about it. She rents a basement apartment in London to study acting at The Donmar, but when her twin sister and her boyfriend take off for the weekend, things start to unravel in Cordelia’s brain. Before the incident, she was able to function well, but afterward, she is on edge constantly, and with her sister gone, she reverts back to that incident and starts to lose her senses.
She befriends an upstairs neighbor named Frank and they start hanging out together, but it soon becomes obvious that Frank is a little “different,” too. Many of the scenes between them have a dream-like appearance, making you wonder if they are, in fact, dreams. Cordelia is obviously going through something that seems to be getting worse by the moment, and the audience is along for the ride. Cordelia’s journey is one you’ll remember long after the movie is over.
Antonia Campbell-Hughes (Caroline)
Caroline is Cordelia’s twin but totally the opposite of Cordelia in every way. Not quiet or subdued, Caroline is flashy from head to toe, usually giving people the impression she wants them to notice her. She also has the tendency to wear things that are provocative and sexy, especially when her boyfriend Matt is nearby. You get the impression that before what happened to Cordelia, the twins were actually close and led a normal life. Now, however, it’s a little different.
When watching the movie, you get the impression that Caroline is the one who carries Cordelia psychologically and allows her to function. When she goes away for the weekend with Matt, it’s easy to understand how things start falling apart in Cordelia’s life. To be sure, Cordelia is the fragile and insecure twin, while Caroline is the self-confident, brave one. It doesn’t take much to realize that this dichotomy makes for a great movie.
Johnny Flynn (Frank)
Frank is the cello-playing upstairs neighbor of Cordelia and Caroline’s. He and Cordelia meet by chance but afterward start a relationship. Frank seems normal and ordinary in the beginning, but in one scene he starts to show a little weirdness himself, just like Cordelia does throughout the movie. You can’t help but be a little suspicious of Frank, and because he and Cordelia spend so much time together, you can look forward to a lot of psychological drama the entire time.
Frank also allows Cordelia to open up a little, although the two of them together is not always a good thing. When they’re together, the movie is a little scarier and a little more fast-paced. In short, you never know what to expect when Cordelia and Frank get together, and they’re together a lot, especially in the first hour of the movie (the movie is roughly 1.5 hours long).
Joel Fry (Matt)
Matt is the boyfriend of Cordelia’s twin sister, Caroline. He doesn’t have a huge role in the movie, but it’s clear he enjoys being with someone as rambunctious and self-confident as Caroline. He and Caroline decide to go away for the weekend, and that’s when the problems in Cordelia’s mind start to appear. In this sense, the character of Matt is significant because his taking Caroline away for the weekend seems to be the reason why Cordelia starts to fall apart in the first place.
Other than that, not much is known about Matt, but he seems to make an interesting addition to the cast, especially since it is his taking Caroline away for the weekend that starts Cordelia’s problems.
Michael Gambon (Moses)
Sir Michael Gambon is an English actor who makes a cameo appearance as Moses in the movie Cordelia. He is best known for his continuing role in the Harry Potter movies. Some viewers wondered why his role was so small, considering his celebrity, but he is good in the role anyway.
Alun Armstrong (Roger)
Alun Armstrong is an English actor with a small part in the movie – a character named Roger. He has starred in movies such as Penny Dreadful and on British television shows, including one called New Tricks.
Other Important People in the Movie
The interesting thing about Antonia Campbell-Hughes, the woman who stars as both the title character and her sister Caroline, is that she is also one of the writers of the script. Adrian Shergold, who is also the director of the film, is the other writer. Kevin Proctor is the producer of the movie, and executive producers include Sally Hawkins, Georgina Lowe, Tania Redding, and Perry Trevers.
Below are some of the other characters in the movie Cordelia: