Tim Roth's directorial debut bleakly portrays the break-up of a family due to incest. Set in Devon, a location so grim it actually does justice to its subject matter. Roth attempts to portray the gritty realism of such a touchy subject but fails to deliver through the way he handles his actors. The deadpan acting-style of the family members appears contrived and is banal.
Nearly all of the characters seemed resigned to the current state of affairs. Tom, the brother who becomes aware of his father's incest with his sister, remains passive and the spectator gets the impression that he is indifferent vis-a-vis the incest. Ray Winstone is convincing as the ostensibly 'good' father who is really the most sinister character in the film. Tilda Swinton plays her role well as the mother who is too caught-up with her new-born baby that she fails to realise what is transpiring around her. But the character with whom I most identified was Jessie, the victim of her father's incest. One gets the impression that she is willing to suffer her father's abuse for the well-being of the family. I would have liked the film to have been more melodramatic, thereby involving the spectator more in action. But considering this, a subject such as incest is not one which is openly dealt with in everyday life. In this regard, I think Roth's directorial debut is powerful in what it acheives. Worth a look.
Nearly all of the characters seemed resigned to the current state of affairs. Tom, the brother who becomes aware of his father's incest with his sister, remains passive and the spectator gets the impression that he is indifferent vis-a-vis the incest. Ray Winstone is convincing as the ostensibly 'good' father who is really the most sinister character in the film. Tilda Swinton plays her role well as the mother who is too caught-up with her new-born baby that she fails to realise what is transpiring around her. But the character with whom I most identified was Jessie, the victim of her father's incest. One gets the impression that she is willing to suffer her father's abuse for the well-being of the family. I would have liked the film to have been more melodramatic, thereby involving the spectator more in action. But considering this, a subject such as incest is not one which is openly dealt with in everyday life. In this regard, I think Roth's directorial debut is powerful in what it acheives. Worth a look.