Kristen Stewart's long gestating directorial debut, based on a memoir of the same name by Lidia Yuknavitch is a stunner. Grounded in Imogen Poots' committed performance, Stewart goes on an unconventional way to tell a story of a writer struggling to find her way from sexual abuse in the hands of her father that she and her sister suffered as children.
Rather than a straight, chronological narrative, the film jumps back and forth in fragmented, sensory overlord fashion in grainy 16mm camera work. From the accumulation of these snippets of memories of Yuknavitch growing up, the narrative slowly emerges- competitive swimming, first marriage to an effeminate young man, still born baby, finding peace with now grown up older sister who fled home from abuse and therefore Lidia having attachment issues with, further exploration of her bi-sexuality and BDSM, drugs and alcohol addiction and writing.
The muted low hum of being under water is ever present, so is Lidia's voice over. It takes a while for Lidia to find her calling in writing. There were supportive people along the way - Claire (Esme Creed Miles, Silver Haze) her best friend and lover, Ken Kesey, the famous author of One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest, played here by James Belushi as a mentor in writing workshop, Claudia (Thora Birch), Lidia's older sister who becomes a bedrock of her support system and Kim Gordon as a scarred photographer whom Lidia explores BDSM with.
The Chronology of Water is a raw and honest depiction of sexual abuse survivor and remarkable power of art and self expression to overcome the trauma. Poots is mesmerizing in her role as a damaged young woman. Belushi settles comfortably in a sage role, who recognizes Lidia's talent, exerting a major Gene Hackman vibe.
The jumpy structure in the timeline matches how our memory works- reminding us of the ebbs and tides of the waves of time: how it contracts and expands and memories intensify or dissipate and are triggered by seemingly trivial moments. It's a great debut by an intense artist who is serious about filmmaking and its messages.
