The setting of Paul Wright's debut feature is the windswept and often treacherous coast of the north of Scotland where a fishing accident has claimed the lives of five men of a tight-knit local community.
Aaron, whose elder brother did not survive, finds himself blamed for the tragedy and begins to blame himself too. But though he becomes an outcast, he still can't quite believe his brother is dead, and goes in search of him. There's a kind of quiet madness within him and Wright's film tries hard for something other than simple realism.
He is aided by rich but never pastoral cinematography and a performance from George MacKay which is consistently watchable. If the film doesn't always work it is perhaps because its writer-director tries for too much in telling his strange, sad story. But the promise is obvious and heralds a new voice in British cinema which, like that of Clio Barnard, ought to be encouraged.
