This one's a beautiful, tender, quiet romantic drama with a moody atmosphere, set in a tight knit Welsh fishing community. It's a touching story about a man waking up sexually in the middle of his life, and how he, his family, and everyone around him deal with it, which makes it emotional and sentimental without ever getting over the top. The slow burn plays out against a landscape that's as bleak as it is gorgeous, where quiet, closed off men are stuck inside rigid ideas of what masculinity should be. Some people might be reminded of "God's Own Country," but I think both films are lovely in their own way. Jack is a middle aged guy who co-owns a mussel farm with his rough around the edges brother Dyfan, and the tension between the two of them is simmering under the surface right from the start. Dyfan's three sons all help out with the work, while Jack's sulky teenage son Tom keeps skipping out. Jack's been with his wife since they were both 16, and...
The film starts with Pommie entering an old woman’s house trying to con her to give him her son Merv’s address. We don’t know what he does with her. Then we meet Merv, also known as Sparra, who is soon to get married to his sweetheart Paula. Together they live in a small town near Melbourne. Paula doesn’t know much about Merv’s past but since he is the most caring, gentle, sweet man; she doesn’t question much. A surprise visit by Pommie to Merv changes things. It turns outfit Pommie and Merv were cell mates in prison and in fact they were lovers too. Tommie is furious to see that Mrv has forgotten him an dis in love with a woman. Paula is welcoming but Pommie threatens Merv that he will tell her everything, despite Merv reminding Pommie that he will never go back to the old ways including violence and loving a man. Things just go downhill from here. On evening, in a fit of rage, Pommie picks up a fight with people in the local bar who later destroy Merv’s entire home. This is when Paula is surprised and in Merv’s absence, Pommie tells Paula about his prison past. This shocks Paula but she still forgives him. Things take another turn when Merv & Pommie get back at the bar people and now the police is after them. When Pommie realises that Merv may be trying to flee the city secretly with Paula, he goes and tells her the truth about the love between the two men. Relationship between the couple turns sour and now Merv must do something and decide what direction does he want to go. Tommie is against him as well now. Will he reciprocate his love or try and win back her lady.
From a story point of view, it is interesting but I felt something somewhere was missing. The director wants us to care for Pommie’s feelings but it keeps shifting between his menace and his vulnerable side. Yes, he is a killer and psychotic but his love for Merv is pure and real. Unfortunately, as an audience you fail to empathise with other of the two men because it is not very clear at any point what was the extent of her relationship in the prison and what was their secret pact? Thankfully, both the men are not projected as any gay stereotype, although the tight pants and shorts definitely showed their juicy behind very well. Thank you 70s. hahaha. Acting from all principal characters is quite good and this film is decent attempt but it fails to leave any long lasting mark. And the very strong Ozzie accent didn’t help much either.
The film may be thriller but doesn’t have either much of a thrill or suspense. It is strictly average. (5/10)
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