Synopsis

 

Manon, is a lonely child, nicknamed ‘mental’ by other children and labelled ‘a waste of space’ by an abusive stepfather, she escapes her abusive reality through her inner fantasy where her only friend is the ‘imaginary’ Mari Lwyd, a skeletal human/horse hybrid from Welsh myth. Like all Welsh fairies, the Mari Lwyd can be a friend or a terror if not properly placated. Manon sees, sings and speaks to the Mari Lwyd during particularly stressful moments, further convincing her antagonists she is unstable. 

 

The story opens with a childhood memory of Manon’s; her stepfather has taken her and her dog into the wilds, the dog has angered him. To punish the dog and teach Manon a lesson he drowns the dog in a frozen lake. Manon’s fractured emotional journey starts there. We cut to Manon alone in a school yard in the run up to Christmas. Antagonised by other children she drifts between reality and her inner fantasies with the Mari Lwyd. Teachers have no sympathy for her as she’s seen as a problem.

 

Her mother, Gwen, is called to school to face an inept teacher who blames Manon for being bullied and asks question about her home life. Gwen fears reporting this to her abusive husband. When Manon and her mother return home, her stepfather has heard from school about Manon 'playing up' at school. As a punishment he is burning her treasured scrapbook of fairy stories and photos important to her. That night Manon is led from her bed by the Mari Lwyd to retrieve the flickering embers of her burnt scrapbook. Back in her bedroom the smouldering book, hidden under her bed, sparks back to life. The smoke filled bedroom dissolves to Manon and the Mari Lwyd drifting in a skiff, from reality, on a misty lake. They drift away to fade as distant sirens underscore the scene.