The Shrine

A photograph of a silhouetted girl by a lake is stuck on a wall and kissed. Over time the image degrades becomes inky till eventually all its recognisable features are gone and a hole has worn through it. Alex clings on obsessing to the memory of his lost love Beatrice and the world passes him by as he descends into alcohol, isolation and a deep depression. Gone are the jokers of his past. Beatrice's life doesn't go on any smoother - continually affected by delusion and paranoia, suggesting Alex's violent return. This seems to at its peak when her new boyfriend is kidnapped, interrogated and murdered. When did young love go so badly wrong? The bullet to the head at the start of this dark psychological drama is nothing by contrast to the reality of a mental health disorder.