God's Creatures

This is one of those stories that is simple, but executed brilliantly. A crisis of identity and of faith as the patriarchy dominates an allegation of sexual assault in a small fishing village. Examining the individual responses of the villagers, creating in-group out-groups that soon meet a flashpoint, yet trundle toward people wanting to normalize and go back to normal. And willfully forget the damage done and ongoing.

I think it's sad/hilarious that so many reviews call it shallow simply because they're triggered the dude is being maligned. It's a story. And it's not his story, nor does it need to be because it's not operating at the concrete level, for the most part.

Emily Watson kills it in this, as does the up-and-comer from the Normal People adaptation. Smart script, not too long, great shots, fantastic soundtrack. Starting my 2023 watch season out right. Excellent stuff.

Emily Watson should be your sole reason to see this movie. You feel her in every moment she's on screen A masterclass in acting.

Paul mescal once again gives a brooding performance as her angry/repressed son.

The movie presents the idea of choices one makes when faced with a difficult scenario.

Do you put on a mask and protect a loved one, Even though your instincts say otherwise?

Or do you finally accept their true nature and do what is right or in her case, What's necessary, when they are immune to consequences.

It's a slow burn. I feel it could've been stronger in the script department and more depth on character motivations, perhaps a bit more detail on what may or may not have happened. The way Last Duel handled that subject matter.

The dad son conflict is sort of there. A fight happens and then oh well next.

Wonderfully dark and moody though . Good for a rainy afternoon/evening.

What would you do, if you had to be untrue, to yourself and all you know, to retain the status quo, stop the waves from crashing down, keep from letting those close drown, hold the tidal swell at bay, what would be, the price you'd pay?

It's a very slow burn and if you're not in tune with the setting and the circumstance (maybe you don't like oysters) then you'll more than likely struggle to keep your head above water for more than half of it, but the performances are sound, especially Emily Watson who seldom disappoints, and it may leave you asking a few questions about what you would do in a similar scenario to the one presented, or indeed whether you accept the events played out as a possible reality at all.

"Brian" (Paul Mescal) has recently returned to his family home on the west coast of Ireland to a warm welcome from his mother "Aileen" (Emily Watson) and a largely indifferent one from his father "Con" (Declan O'Hara). For reasons we are not told, he has returned from Australia and is soon determined to pick up his ailing grandfather's oyster farming business. Despite knowing very little about this, he knuckles down and with the help of some "borrowed" half-grown's from the seafood factory where his mother works, seems intent on making a go of things. All is set fair until one evening, "Aileen" has to pay a visit to the police station where she learns of an accusation, a very serious accusation, being levelled against the apple of her eye. She reacts defensively, and firmly, as any mother probably would - but as the remainder of the story develops, we see her begin to reconsider her position. Might he actually have done what he was accused of? The story itself is all rather weak here, sorry. Some beautiful location photography and loads of lingering shots of folks having cigarettes doesn't really ignite this. The narrative is put together in a rather bitty, unconvincing, fashion and though Watson is on great form as the increasingly conflicted lady, Mescal offers very little beyond his hail-fellow-well-met character and the underlying gist of the story is seriously undercooked. It does offer us a glimpse of the difficulties faced by those making a living in this harsh and unforgiving environment and perhaps I will think twice before I eat an Irish oyster again, but I think too much emphasis has been placed on who is in this film rather than developing a story that has depth and detail and holds the attention of the audience. It is worth a watch, and it's co-produced by BBC Film so the telly at Christmas is sure to be a place to find it.

A movie I found hard to rate. There are things I liked a lot in it.

The atmosphere of the small Irish fishing community, all grey skies, dour faces, dramatic waves crashing to the shore. Yeah, I'm a sucker for that.

The actors were very strong, as you can imagine with Emily Watson and Paul Mescal leading your cast. There's a very interesting story told here, about just how far a mother's love can go. Mescal is a never do well, but in the eyes of Watson he's the bees knees. Until something happens that even she can't deny.

It's a very interesting story, something I've not seen a lot in other movies. And yet... I was so disappointed by the way it was all handled. Sometimes a movie can be too subtle. I felt some important scenes were left on the cutting room floor. I needed more closure, some dramatic fits, anything really!

I know subtlety is a good thing and not everything needs to be spelled out...but you gotta give us something!