CinemaSerf

Aug 10, 2025

6.0

Hmmm. As a Scotsman, I think this is one of those films that I’m supposed to like - it has a solid cast and an interesting concept underpinning it - but I ended up distinctly underwhelmed by the lacklustre feel of the whole thing. An agrarian, Scots, community awaken one morning to find that one of the barns of the laird “Kent” (Harry Melling) has been damaged by fire. As if that wasn’t curious enough, there is also some smoke billowing from the opposite end of their village where some newcomers have settled for the night. Suspicions run riot, but before the people do likewise “Walt” (Caleb Landry Jones) attempts to see just what happened and two of the visitors end up in the stocks. Meantime, the villagers are also a little wary of “Quill” (Arinzé Kane) who not only dresses strangely but has been tasked by their boss with mapping out his estate to increase productivity. As the story unravels, we discern that “Kent” and “Walt” are old friends but that tragedy has impacted on both of their lives rendering them shadows of their former selves. Things come to an head when the enigmatic “Jordan” (Frank Dillane) arrives and claims ownership of the entire village and demands that everyone shift so he can rear more sheep. Where are they to go? Now some emphasis is made on the local and sometimes quite earthy dialect used here, but sadly the audio mixing is frankly rather poor and so half the time it’s quite difficult to hear what dialogue there is - and that’s not great for a drama that focuses substantially on characters and their conversations. As the actual plot itself slowly develops, we are presented with a series of mixed historical messages that contrive to make points that aren’t really borne out by events or circumstances we can actually see, and as we move, lethargically, towards an inconclusive conclusion I found that not only was I confused, but I was also surprisingly disinterested by the whole affair. Neither CLJ nor Melling really impose themselves, though that’s as much to do with their rather weak personas, and the internecine and superstitious behaviour of the population seemed a little too conveniently stereotypical of some things Scottish or English or British or even Brazilian! It does have a very authentic production design to it and effort has clearly gone into recreating a community run by a landed gentry - though, curiously, without any significant religious figure - who lived a completely different life from his serfs. I haven’t read the book upon which this is based, but can guess that the politics behind the highland clearances might inspire somewhere here. Again, though, that aspect is as undercooked at the rest of this meandering effort. I’ve watched it twice now but feel I’ve got all I’m going to get from something that just feels incomplete and slightly frustrating.