Director: Brad McGann NZ/UK, 126min
Stars: Matthew MacFadyen, Emily Barclay
On general release
What starts out as a domestic drama about an estranged war photographer returning to the small New Zealand town he fled 17 years ago takes a darker turn along the way. But this thriller about the secrets of a family riddled with dysfunction keeps its answers hidden until the very end.
The first-time director McGann cloaks the story in false starts and flashbacks — it’s so structurally ambitious that it risks leaving inattentive audiences lost somewhere out there in rural New Zealand. But for those prepared to make the investment, this melancholy tale has a way of getting under the skin.
That’s partly thanks to an impressive cast. MacFadyen is compelling as the desensitised Paul, whose attempts to connect with his past provide some of the films most toe-curlingly uncomfortable moments. Barclay as Celia, the 16-year-old daughter of his former girlfriend, is charismatic as a kindred spirit for Paul, equally oppressed by the vast, empty skies and rolling country around them.
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Wendy Ide