by Julian Wood
Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Daniel Day-Lewis, Samantha Morton, Sean Bean, Samuel Bottomley
Intro:
… a powerful piece of cinema that you will not easily forget.
Is there an inherent link between certain ways of being a man and violence? This question is very old. How could it not be? Men have, for the most part, been the warriors and the war mongers in most cultures throughout human history. In a post-feminist age, there is another layer to this now, in terms of thinking about whether there is some essential ‘toxicity’ to masculinity that needs to be contained or diverted. This gritty, dark drama from Ronan Day-Lewis (son of Daniel) certainly delves deep into aspects of the male psyche and the brutal legacy passed on from some fathers to sons. This is not a film of ideas and debates though but of raw experiences.
The lead character is Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis who co-wrote the script with his debutant director son. There is something of an overlap with character and player here as Day-Lewis has, like Ray, been away from things for a while). When Ray appears in his home village, he brings a sense of danger. First and foremost, there is the question of his relationship to his brother Jem (the equally craggy Sean Bean). The two of them spend a lot of time circling each other and trying to work out if they want to revisit their violent family past and deciding whether they can ever reconnect on a personal level. In the mix is Nessa (Smanatha Morton), the wife abandoned by Ray when she was about to have their child.
Any appearance by Day-Lewis is bound to be a drawcard. He is rightly known as one of the most lauded/awarded film actors of his generation, and he is never less than riveting on screen. The film is pretty spikey, though. There is nothing soft or yielding about this milieu or the people in it. That is a large part of the point, and it is realised with uncompromising visceral skill. The support players are at the top of their game too.
Ray is not a likable man, and deliberately so, but when we know what formed him; both in his abusive childhood and his long tough years in the army, we can fully appreciate his turmoil. The film doesn’t depict much on-screen violence, but it’s saturated by the heavy feel of menace. There is one scene in particular, which has one of the most verbally raw speeches we have seen in a long while. Few people could deliver it with the venom and pent-up fury that Day-Lewis manages here. If you want a masterclass and you are prepared to enter this uncompromising world, then don’t miss it. It is a powerful piece of cinema that you will not easily forget.
