| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| BaftaBaby |
Posted - 12/13/2013 : 15:14:18
Apologies if this already has a thread, but none turned up on Search.
So anyway, it's cinematographer Yoliswa G�rtig's extraordinary directness that sets the tone for this microcosm of Highland life. Or should I say Highland existence, since life implies something more vibrant.
I know several countries boast such isolated landscapes, but consider this Scottish backwater as the setting for a tale of hidden beauty, repression, dis-ease, and the kind of passion no one is comfortable with let alone knows how to handle.
Director Scott Graham, a very talented cine-storyteller takes his time, echoing the pace of the natural world, allowing us to feel slightly annoyed by the intrusions of modern life. A single road, far as the eye can see, connecting nowhere to nowhere else, ripping through some of the most spectacular peaks and lochs. Spectacular and matter-of-fact at once.
The story encompasses a dad of few words single-handedly raising his teen-aged daughter. They've made do for the past 15 years on the land and the petrol station/garage he runs ever since the woman of the house ran off and abandoned them.
That's it really. The girl, Shell, may dream of stepping off the edge of her world, but snuggles in the comfort of the familiar. Because every tiny thing that happens is challenged by the enormity of the setting, it's easy to feel a certain claustrophobia. Which, given the landscape, is of course ironic.
Scott's produced a deceptively simple film which echoes long after you've watched it. Anyone familiar with Scotland and the Scots will know how accurate the film is. It's also absorbing and totally enhanced by the central performances of Joseph Mawle and Chloe Pirrie.
I hope it gets wider distribution than I fear it will.
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