Retreat - Nessuna via di fuga

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 A journalist, Kate is withdrawn but reveals through her writing that a previous miscarriage has caused a rift in their relationship.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.

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.

"Retreat" is a three-hander, starring Thandie Newton, Cillian Murphy and Jamie Bell (although there is one other character with a brief speaking part). Kate (Newton) and Martin (Murphy) have gone off to an island retreat to regroup after Kate miscarries; they return to a solitary cottage on a remote island where they had been happy years earlier, thinking it might help their relationship. But Kate is withdrawn and Martin doesn't know what to do, and the whole thing might not have been a very good idea after all. One day, they stumble upon Jack (Bell), an injured military man to whom they are quick to offer shelter. Unfortunately, the generator in the cottage has shorted out, and the CB radio seems not to be working, so when Jack tells them that a fast-moving and lethal air-borne infection has been sweeping the world and the only way to protect themselves from it is to barricade themselves inside the cottage, they have no way of knowing whether he's telling the truth or not. But Jack's decisive (and bullying) behaviour convinces at least Martin that something is going on, and although Kate initially resists and suggests that they just leave the cottage to the "crazy" man, she too is more or less bullied into submission. And it is true that something is going on, but whether they can figure it out in time to save themselves is an open question....

This is writer/director Carl Tibbetts' debut film. I expected it to be a very tense psychological thriller, and to some extent it is, but there are flaws that perhaps a more experienced scriptwriter and director could have smoothed out. Largest among these is the simple fact that if Martin had listened to Kate right after Jack shows up, they wouldn't have gotten into this mess. It's hard to swallow disbelief when some plot points are so, well, silly. This is not to pan the film at all – it's sharp, has some beautiful cinematography (it was filmed in Gwynedd, Wales), and a lot of the twists and turns (especially at the end) are unexpectedly rich. But really the best reason to see this film is for the acting; our three leads are just outstanding, with Thandie Newton's performance serving as the focus that holds the whole film together. Definitely recommended.

I had pretty high expectations for Retreat because:

 A. I'm a big fan of both Thandie Newton and Cillian Murphy.

and...

B. I like thrillers in general, and it's been a while since I've seen a good one.

And does it live up to those expectations? Not particularly. It's certainly a tense movie, with a menacing stranger showing up at the remote island vacation cottage of a couple, bringing with him frightening tales of a global pandemic. They mustn't leave and they must seal themselves away inside the cottage to avoid the certain death that outside contact and infection brings... according to him. But, is he telling the truth? Is the threat really the world outside, or the man in their home?

There's a twist or turn near the end that keeps Retreat from being strictly as predictable as my description might have lead you to believe, but whether that makes the story any better is up for debate. Personally, I found it to be somewhat underwhelming once it was all revealed. 

Retreat does keep you guessing about what to believe, to a certain extent, but I can't say that I "enjoyed" watching the movie. The characters are all flaws and bad decisions, with no real reason to invest in them and hope they survive whatever threat, be it viral or human, that may endanger them. 

The acting is nothing special,  thanks to a pretty pedestrian script that lacks any semblance of nuance. The tragedy that brings the couple to the cottage has no real relevance to the story, which makes it nothing more than pointless backstory. Their history is brought up in careful detail, only to never lead anywhere. Murphy's character is written to be such a weak and passive man that it borders on caricature and Newton's has two emotions, unhappy and afraid (though she still manages to be absolutely beautiful). Jamie Bell goes overboard on the menace and danger, when some ambiguity would have served both the character and story much better. 

This was definitely a flawed experience for me. I didn't dislike the movie, and as I said, it can be quite tense at times, but it just seemed off in several ways. The word "underwhelming" comes to mind.

An above average virus movie, very enjoyable. I am not sure why some people that appear to not enjoy horror or virus/plague movies insist on watching them then complain when they do not like it. That would be like me eating my least favorite food then complaining how the meal sucked. It makes no sense, this movie was great for those that enjoy this type of movie. The acting was good and it keeps you guessing to the very end.

Worth your time to watch. Good acting, very nice location and good plot.

Give it a shot, it is worth it.