Puffball Review

Nicolas Roeg’s first cinematic feature in 12 years shows flashes of the visual ingenuity that made him an arthouse darling in the ’70s. However, they’re dismayingly rare, and this eccentric adaptation of Fay Weldon’s 1980 novel descends into unhinged chaos, exacerbated by a skewed storyline and overwrought performances. Miranda Richardson and Rita Tushingham are particularly guilty as they engage in an Irish variation on voodoo to punish pregnant architect Kelly Reilly for ‘stealing’ the child they crave to replace a son killed long ago in a fire. But it’s Donald Sutherland’s superfluous cameo as Reilly’s Nordic boss that best sums up the absurdity of this misfiring mess.