Shell
- 2012
- 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
A 17-year old girl called Shell lives and works at a remote gas station in the Scottish Highlands with her father, Pete. Their physical isolation and reliance on each other triggers confusin... Read allA 17-year old girl called Shell lives and works at a remote gas station in the Scottish Highlands with her father, Pete. Their physical isolation and reliance on each other triggers confusing emotions.A 17-year old girl called Shell lives and works at a remote gas station in the Scottish Highlands with her father, Pete. Their physical isolation and reliance on each other triggers confusing emotions.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 6 wins & 6 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Please never put anything in the mouth of someone having a seizure. That advice is outdated and extremely unsafe. Also, for the love of all that is holy, do not put your hand in the mouth of a person having a seizure. That is just stupid. I do think films featuring medical conditions should have to be approved to ensure the public aren't being given misinformation that could endanger others.
Now that's out the way, I actually loved this film. It was uncomfortable, charming and sad all at once. Great leads who conveyed so much with so few words. Glad I watched it and would probably watch it again.
Now that's out the way, I actually loved this film. It was uncomfortable, charming and sad all at once. Great leads who conveyed so much with so few words. Glad I watched it and would probably watch it again.
I recorded this not knowing what it was about, then set down to watch it 3 months later. As the movie progressed, clearly slower than most action movies, my curiosity and expectation turned into a growing sense of awkwardness as the scenes unfolded. A young woman unaware of - or grappling with her own sexuality becomes the focus of male urges in forbidden, fleeting or equally desperate desires. The location of desolate isolation intensifies the storyline of her yearning to break free from her roadside, family-tied prison-without-walls young life, and the pace becomes irrelevant or perhaps magnetizing. Genuine tension fills the air with each customer visit with growing concern of the outcome. This movie is a triumph in awkwardness. Well done Director.
I came across this film via MyFlixer. I'm always attracted to the alternatives of life. This seemed like a indie cinema creation. The film itself was dark, broody and disturbing. It gave me some hope in the days of loneliness and covid 24/7 brainwashing. I liked the main character. She is stuck in her Dad's vortex of a petrol station. The blokes that patronise the petrol station, do so out of a fancy for her. The electricity between her and her old man is weird and desperate at the same time. There's not much conversation here, it's all said in the lack of conversation. A daughter imprisoned by her epileptic patriarch.
A touchy and difficult subject matter that she manages to escape after the main event. I liked it, it had all the darkness and desolation of any good British Film. It's worth your time, but don't expect much joviality.
There are still places in the far north west of Scotland where you can drive for miles and scarcely see a house, with vast uninhabited moors between the roads, but for the most part, life in these parts is a story of small, remote communities that are communities nonetheless. Scott Graham's film takes us to lonelier place, however, the story of a young woman living an unhealthily close life with her needy, epileptic father: this might not be a normal life even in the highlands, but this a certainly a place where the daily practice of separation from others could lead to emotional isolation. The film follows the maxim of "show don't tell", which is often a good one; but here we only see a bleak portrait of empty lives, with exemplary incidents but little narrative: it's almost impossible to judge anyone as "good", "bad", or even "likeable" this far outside the normal physical and moral terrain. It's not an awful film, but a dash of something - humour, plot, malice - would not have gone amiss.
I had not heard of this film before but watched it last night and found that although it was on late, I could not take my eyes off the screen. The film is slow moving, but the acting draws you in - it is not an action thriller,so don't expect much dialogue or excitement. The characters move around each other with ease and there is a pathos and understanding between the father and daughter where you root for them to find some happiness in their dreary, bleak lives, even if it is with each other. Taboo subject, touched on with delicacy and great acting. It is almost like a French film where the words are few, the acting looks easy as if they are not acting, but the result is mesmerising and very watchable for the audience. You do feel for the couple and for their circumstances, but looking around the countryside, you can see that it reflects their empty lives.
Did you know
- TriviaA purpose-built garage was built on the shores of Little Loch Broom near the Scottish Highlands town of Ullapool.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The EE British Academy Film Awards (2014)
- SoundtracksLoving Hannah
Written by I Campbell
Published by Chrysalis Music Ltd
© 2008. Used by permission. All rights reserved
- How long is Shell?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Шелл
- Filming locations
- Little Loch Broom, near Badcaul, Highland, Scotland(all exteriors)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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