To quote Game of Thrones’ Meera Reed: “Some people always need help but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth helping.” In this visually stark, Somerset-based drama, conscientious, grungy vet Clover (GoT’s Ellie Kendrick) has always looked out for her kid brother, Charlie. The tragedy is that by the time she arrives back at her family home Charlie can no longer be helped.
Kendrick is a charismatic and subtle performer. So is David Troughton, who plays Clover’s dad, Aubrey, a farmer who has been living in a caravan since the 2014 floods and is clearly in crisis. His manic heartiness, and Clover’s quiet fury, have an organic quality.
Alas, the plot feels genetically modified. In the days leading up to Charlie’s funeral endless secrets are exposed and there are revelations in a pitch-black room (as Clover listens to someone telling “the truth”, she holds a flaming torch up to her own face, an especially unconvincing touch). Then, after one last bombshell, comes catharsis. Talk about a rush job.
First-time director Hope Dickson Leach is fascinated by where (and if) animals belong in this godforsaken landscape. Clover is a vegetarian and the best scene is a jokey one in which she and her father bicker, almost happily, over whether she should eat potatoes from a meaty stew.
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EU rules. Insurance scams. Infectious diseases. These are all serious topics, yet it’s when Leach fools around that The Levelling feels like it has something truly important to say.
Cert 15, 83 mins
