Directed and written by Matthew J Saville (his first feature film) and starring Charlotte Rampling (45 Years (2015); Melancholia (2011); Red Sparrow (2018); Night Train to Lisbon (2013)), George Ferrier (One of Us is Lying (TV series, 2021-22); Dirty Laundry (TV series, 2016)), Marton Csokas (The Equalizer (2014); The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014); Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012); The Luminaries (TV series, 2021)) and Edith Poor (The Power of the Dog (2021); Underbelly: Land of the Long Green Cloud (TV series, 2011)).
Drama, 95 mins, 16+
Set in New Zealand, the film tells the story of Ruth (Charlotte Rampling), a former war photographer who is in her twilight years, who moves to New Zealand to be with her son Robert (Marton Csokas) with whom she has never been close.
She is cantankerous and drinks a lot but has her nurse, Sarah (Edith Poor), to look after her as she convalesces from a broken leg and cannot walk, being wheelchair-bound.
Robert collects his teenage son Sam (George Ferrier) who has been suspended from boarding school and brings him home, waiting for his mother, Sam's grandmother to arrive.
Kindred spirits in many ways, yet Sam is aloof, self-destructive and wary of the unknown, a teenager who has not known his grandmother growing up. He is still grieving the loss of his mother and feels his father has never shown an interest in him, sending him off to boarding school just three months after his (Sam's) mother died.
Robert gives Sam the reason that he has to return to England to sort out his mother's (Ruth's) affairs, and leaves Sam and Ruth in the house together, along with Sarah. We see behind Ruth's mask, on one hand realising that her going off to war-zones was to avoid family responsibilities and, on the other, seeing her as a feisty alcoholic. However, they start to learn about each other and form an unexpected bond.
Melancholy and slow-moving, with just a few cinematographic shots of the rolling hills of the wonderful landscape New Zealand has to offer. The storyline / plot is wafer thin but this is much more about character development and the audience unearthing the back-stories of the three main family members, from three different generations.
Currently screening at Ciné Utopia.
