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On this page: ROSE OF NEVADA | UNDERTONE

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 3.Apr.26

Rose of Nevada
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

dir-scr Mark Jenkin
prd Denzil Monk
with George MacKay, Callum Turner, Francis Magee, Edward Rowe, Rosalind Eleazar, Mary Woodvine, Adrian Rawlins, Mae Voogd, Yana Penrose, Aria Balliah-Quinn, Emily Dalglish-Lane, Tori Cannell
release US Oct.25 nyff,
UK 24.Apr.26
25/UK Film4 1h54

VENICE FILM FEST
TORONTO FILM FEST

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Using his grainy, colour-saturated 16mm aesthetic to terrific effect, writer-director Mark Jenkin creates a fantastical folk tale that digs deeply into involving themes about history and identity. This is superbly visceral filmmaking, watching scenes in close-up with frequent cutaways to ambient details. And even if the film feels repetitive and elusive, the story is mesmerising in the way it unfolds through the eyes of its central character.

In a faded fishing village in Cornwall, a boat appears in the harbour 30 years after it vanished. Skipper Murgey (Magee) hires two young men as the crew: Nick (MacKay) needs cash to fix the roof for his wife (Voogd) and their young daughter, while the rootless Liam (Turner) has nothing better to do. After a three-day stint, they return with their load of fish to a now-thriving port, and unexpected welcomes. A couple (Woodvine and Rawlins) greets Nick as their son; Liam is embraced by a woman (Eleazar) whose daughter (Penrose) calls him "daddy".

Earthy and grubby with blazingly colours and brooding skies, this film is unusually tactile, thanks to Jenkins' camerawork and editing, augmented by a particularly vivid sound mix. We see most of this through Nick's perspective, as he tries to make sense of what is happening and find a way back home to his wife and child. This gives the film a kick of horror as events spiral around him, both on land and at sea. Fishing is a relentlessly exhausting routine, with added weather complications. But the impact is darkly emotional.

MacKay is terrific in this strikingly physical role, expressing as much with his body as with words. He's a young man simply trying to provide for his family, worried that this freaky time loop means that he has sacrificed everything by taking this job. His friendship with the magnetic Turner's quieter, steelier Liam is fascinating, uneven and unpredictable. Surrounding characters often feel almost like a chorus around them, confronting and challenging their perceptions.

All of this ripples into the present through wider topicality, touching on everything from climate change to shifting global economics. It's a powerful idea that this small community is no longer the vibrant part of larger society that it used to be. And on a more personal level, the film explores how past tragedies echo through generations and have an impact that's deeper and wider than we can ever really know.

themes, language, violence 29.Jan.26

Undertone
Review by Rich Cline | 2.5/5

dir-scr Ian Tuason
prd Cody Calahan, Dan Slater
with Nina Kiri, Michele Duquet, Adam DiMarco, Keana Lyn Bastidas, Jeff Yung, Ryan Turner, Ari Millen, Marisol D'Andrea, Austin Tuason, Seled Calderon, Sarah Beaudin, Christina Notto
release US 13.Mar.26,
UK 10.Apr.26
26/Canada 1h34

SUNDANCE FILM FEST

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With a detailed sound mix, this thriller attempts to frighten us with disorienting and abrasive noises. But while this establishes atmospheric dread, nothing about this is remotely scary, and there isn't a single jolt. It doesn't help that the script is very light on logic, with scenes that never quite hold water. At least actress Nina Kiri maintains our interest in what's essentially an unhinged one-woman show.

As they explore ghostly goings-on, podcast host Evy (Kiri) plays sceptic opposite her true-believer cohost Justin (DiMarco). But Evy is recording episodes from a distance, because she's caring for her unconscious, dying mother (Duquet). For their next episode, Evy and Justin listen to a listener's audio files that touch a nerve because they echo Evy's love of traditional nursery rhymes like Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. In this case, the recording features London Bridge, which played backwards reveals sinister messages. There are also loud thumps, babies crying and other noises that freak out the insomniac Evy.

Evy and her mother are the only people on-screen, and Mama never wakes up. Maybe. Living at an unexplained distance, Justin never uses a video link. So the whole film hinges on Kiri's terrific presence as Evy. We root for her to make sense of this perplexing storm of craziness. Because of her cynical sense of humour, her actions and reactions are gripping even when they make little sense. But then, thinly written script doesn't bother to plug any of the holes.

Frustratingly, voices down the line never quite become fully fledged characters, while Evy's only depth is her sense of responsibility for her mother and a vaguely strained relationship with her boyfriend (Turner). Instead of trying to deepen the audience's involvement using coherent storytelling, Tuason leans entirely into the extraordinary soundscape, which comes to life every time Evy puts on her headphones, enveloping the cinema in an eerily cold silence before the cacophony begins.

Hints about witchy demonic folklore build on the religious icons positioned around Mama's fusty house. So how the camera's artfully drifts around the sets creates a vibe that's creepy but never actually frightening. There is the odd blurry figure in the dark, plus red herring shots of mirrored doors swinging open and closed. But the main thing that unsettles us is the skilfully constructed onslaught of sounds, carefully mixed to be as jarring as possible. And in the end we are still waiting for something horrific to happen.

themes, language, violence 1.Apr.26

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL