Retreat

"Retreat" started out as a tight, minimalistic indie thriller, maintained the well written characters, and then added in some intriguing mind games played out beneath the surface. And then it devolved into a blood-fest of science fiction diseases and government conspiracies. I was riveted for the first hour and twenty minutes and then sat agape in frustration for the last ten minutes.

Martin (Cillian Murphy) and Kate (Thandie Newton) are a married couple seeking an isolated retreat. A log house on a remote island which they have been to before but not since their marriage has deteriorated. Kate thinks it is irreparable; Martin thinks he just has to apologize one more time and everything will be perfect. Then an injured soldier arrives at their door and they proceed to take him in.

Before they know it, he has locked them inside the house. Not to kill them, but to save them, or so he says. We're pretty sure he's crazy, husband and wife are pretty sure he's crazy, until sleep-deprived Martin starts falling to his insane argument. Something about there being a disease outside and if you breathe the air around an infected person, you die. Well, you cough up blood and then you die. As I said, we're pretty sure he's crazy, and this is just the type of thing that crazy people say.

The fascinating parts of this film involve the soldier convincing Martin and Kate that the threats are real, Martin seeming to believe him, Kate getting angry, and then Martin just wanting to take care of his wife and save their marriage. The majority of this takes place inside the house with only three characters. Let the mind games begin as each character tries to figure out what they want, how to get it, how to do it alone or with somebody else.

When we approached the end, I was playing along with their game, trying to predict each twist and turn that would take us to the satisfying conclusion. I did not guess correctly as I was not predicting the many twists that each character would take with their final, almost final, maybe final, and then their final final dying breath. If that sounds ridiculous, wait until you hear what was really going on. The ending would suggest that "Retreat" was one of those stupid horror movies built for blood and laughs. This is extremely disappointing because the rest of the movie suggested that it was one of the best indie thrillers around.

I don't understand the bad critics,it is a good movie. I watched it after I read the reviews here and was expecting something worse.I must say I was pleasantly surprised by Retreat. It is a psychological thriller,the acting is very good (Cillian Murphy is a remarkably good actor,but also Jamie Bell and Thandie Newton are a pleasure to watch)and the story kept me guessing until the end. Retreat slightly reminded me of 28 Days Later,but it is a totally different story and captivating in it's own way.I liked the pace and the atmosphere of the film,and I would recommend it to everyone interested in this genre. Retreat definitely deserves better critics and a better rating!

One might think this movie was inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic, until they notice it was made in 2011. Married couple Kate and Martin find themselves stranded on their island retreat with a man claiming a deadly virus is spreading across the world. Is he telling the truth? That's the mystery presented by this movie. Kate and Martin must decide whether to listen and bunker down with this stranger or try to leave and risk the dangers of a possible pandemic. The frustration with this movie is how dumb Kate and Martin are. They can't seem to do anything right. Is this bad news bearing stranger a dangerous liar? Or is he a survivor trying to get some cooperation out of this helpless couple? Needing the answers to these questions kept me engaged until the end.

The journalist Kate (Thandie Newton) and her estranged husband, the architect Martin (Cillian Murphy), rent an isolated house in Fairweather Cottage in the Blackholme Island expecting to rekindle their love and save their marriage after a miscarriage of Kate. The owner, Doug (Jimmy Yuill), brings the couple in his boat and they have only a Citizen Band (CB) radio to communicate with him. Soon they have problem with the generator and Doug helps them, repairing the equipment. When Kate sees a wounded stranger in the island, she calls Martin and they bring him to the house. They note that the man is dressed with military uniform and has a weapon, and Martin hides the gun. The stranger wakes up and tells that he is Private Jack Corman (Jamie Bell) and he is fleeing from a pandemic in the continent. Further, they must isolate the house to protect themselves against the deadly airborne virus. Kate does not buy his story but Martin gives his gun back. Who is Jack? Is he telling the truth?

"Retreat" is a boring and annoying psychological thriller, with a terrible story and unlikable characters. There are many flaws in the plot and stupid reactions and plot points. Thandie Newton's character is irritating and she has histrionic performance. The final plot point with the truth about Jack is kind of absurd. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): Not Available on DVD or Blu-Ray

As a debut writer/director, Carl Tibbetts' "Retreat" is a well made psychological thriller with steady increase in pacing that generates an atmosphere going from brooding to disturbing. Only accessible by ferry, the story unfolds on a little island off the coast of Scotland where a married but childless couple rents a rustic cottage. Soon after their arrival on the island, it is evident that Kate and Martin have seen happier times. A journalist, Kate is withdrawn but reveals through her writing that a previous miscarriage has caused a rift in their relationship. In an effort to rekindle their marriage, Martin tries to put the past behind, hoping happy memories of their previous stay on the island will seal their marital wounds once and for all. But as it seems, things get from bad to worse when their only contact with the mainland – a CB radio – malfunctions, and the cottage's power generator chokes out. Amongst all this, an injured soldier arrives on the island and amplifies their predicament, stating that an air-borne virus is rapidly sweeping across Europe. Claiming the outbreak to be extremely lethal, Jack proceeds to board-up the cottage from the inside, even as it dawns on Kate and Martin that their strange guest is becoming increasingly hostile.

Although widely comparable to the Nicole Kidman-Sam Neill thriller "Dead Calm", Tibbetts' work here is mostly captivating, relying heavily on portrayals from Thandie Newton and Cillian Murphy as the couple, and Jamie Bell as the antagonistic intruder. As such, acting is the pivotal structure steadily holding up the plot build-up. Bell is particularly impressive as an alpha male that goes on to challenge Martin's manhood right before his wife. As soon as Bell's character enters, we know the premise calls for psychological confrontation as two men try to outsmart each other. Add to that a fragile and hurting woman in between, and the stage is set for a tension built battle for survival. Tibbetts' screenplay also affords equal opportunity to Newton and Murphy as they each share moments of power in trying to outsmart Bell's Jack. This is evident that although there is a growing wedge in their relationship, previous problems diminish in size when faced with what they must now do to protect each other and their marriage.

With a good part of the plot carried out within the confines of the cottage, Tibbetts succeeds in holding on to the viewer's attention despite the fact that single locale films can become boring. Besides the aforementioned acting, what works for Tibbetts is the premise – a broken married couple alone on an island, faced with a life threatening situation where they are forced to reconcile their past, or die trying. With all the twists and turns in the second half, Tibbetts gives hope to the audience while simultaneously tightening the noose around Kate and Martin. This alone reduces viewer predictability while also giving the ending a disturbing albeit open-ended finish. Personally, I was hoping for a satisfying ending, but as it seems, Tibbetts may have had other things in mind like connecting the viewer with his characters and then brutally severing that connection; its like saying hope is as useful as a missed opportunity.

All things considered, this movie is a decent attempt for a film maker writing and directing his first movie. For a thriller, plot twisters keep gnawing at the nape of your neck, with some good acting swelling said plot with tense moments. Curiously, the ending may disappoint some viewers, especially those who are optimistic about feel-good endings.