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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/swallow_poster.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Tagline}} Open up.]]'']]
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4''Swallow'' is a 2019 psychological drama-thriller film starring Creator/HaleyBennett and Austin Stowell. It was the directorial debut of Carlo Mirabella-Davis, who also wrote the film.
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6Bennett plays Hunter, a young housewife from a working-class family who lives an idyllic, picturesque domestic existence with her lovely upper-class husband Richard (Stowell) -- [[GildedCage or at least it seems that way looking in]].
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8In reality, Hunter is deeply unhappy; her marriage is loveless, and people hardly listen to her or even see her outside the role of the subservient housewife she has fulfilled.
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10As a defence mechanism-cum-escape, she develops an impulse to consume inedible objects. As the compulsion grows more intense, and the physical and relational ramifications more severe, Hunter must confront the truth behind her obsession.
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12Mirabella-Davis based the premise of ''Swallow'' on his grandmother's struggles with OCD; the film's production designer, Erin Magill, cited ''[[Film/Safe1995 Safe]]'' and ''Film/RosemarysBaby'' as influences on the film's look. The film premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival before receiving wider releases in France and the USA throughout early 2020.
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15!!This film provides examples of:
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17* BastardAngst: Hunter clearly lacks any love from her mother or technical stepfather, [[spoiler:because she is a ChildByRape that, it's implied, her mother would have aborted given half the chance.]]
18* BitchInSheepsClothing:
19** Hunter's husband Richie on the surface seems like a nice, caring husband; however, he is soon revealed to be a verbally abusive Jerkass who talks down to his wife whenever he's mad at her. He is also not very loving and supportive to her which is a driving force that leads to Hunter's disorder.
20** Richie's parents don't fare much better than their son.
21* ChildByRape: [[spoiler:William Erwin raped Hunter's mother; due to the family's religious views, the mother being unable to abort led to Hunter being born.]]
22* CreepySouvenir: At one point, Hunter takes to collecting items that she has successfully swallowed and ''passed'', having recovered them from the toilet.
23* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:While not perhaps the happiest ending per se, Hunter finally breaks free from Richie and realizes she doesn't need him and she finds closure with her dad who tells he is not ashamed of her. By the final scene, Hunter is clearly on a better path to her life than the life she had before.]]
24* EatDirtCheap: At perhaps her lowest point emotionally, Hunter, having fled her abusive spouse and in-laws, holes up in a motel and obsessively chows down on soil while watching TV.
25* TheFundamentalist: Hunter's family are implied to be from this background.
26* GildedCage: Pretty much sums of Hunter's marriage. While on the surface it appears to be the idyllic domestic life, it soon becomes clear that Richie and his parents are horribly controlling people who only provide for her if she fulfills their exact role for her.
27* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: [[spoiler:During one of her therapy sessions, Hunter reveals that she was a product of rape and her mother was barred from terminating the pregnancy due to her family's right-wing religious beliefs. In a significant break from her traditionalist life, she ends up aborting her own pregnancy at the end of the film.]]
28* HeelRealization: [[spoiler: Erwin, who raped Hunter's mother and is Hunter's biological father, tells her at the climax that he thought of himself as a god when he had committed the act. He said he felt that way until receiving a beating in prison, which caused injuries severe enough to require a colostomy bag. Erwin tells her that that experience made him realize what a terrible person he actually was and subsequently became remorseful for what he had done. ]]
29* {{Housewife}}: What Richie and his parents are trying to mold Hunter into, complete with vaguely anachronistic fashion. Hunter very much tries to conform to this role, but finally has had enough when she can no-longer ignore their cruel and controlling treatment of her.
30* {{Jerkass}}: Richie is a horrible verbally abusive, uncaring husband.
31* JerkassHasAPoint: As bad as they may be, Richie and his parents are not entirely wrong to be angry at Hunter's disorder and take many of the precautions and treatments they did, due to it being a serious threat to the health of the baby and Hunter's own life.
32* MadnessInducedOmnivore: Hunter develops the real-life disorder called pica, which causes the compulsion to swallow non-food objects. It develops slowly starting with a relatively harmless glass marble, but becomes increasingly harmful as she graduates to sharp objects, like thumb tacks safety pins, and even a small screwdriver.
33* NeverASelfMadeWoman: Hunter worked retail and was a StarvingArtist before she married Richie, who provides for her.
34* NiceGuy: Luay seems to be the only primary main character that is truly sympathetic to what Hunter is going through.[[spoiler: Luay even ends up helping Hunter escape from Richie and his family near the end.]]
35* SecretSnackStash: A dark variety. Hunter sneaks a bag of metal objects after Richie and Luay hide anything easily accessible that she can swallow. She ends up hiding it under the wall-mounted toilet.

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