God's Creatures (2023)

Paul Mescal will be familiar to those who saw last year's stunning Aftersun, and he's back in his native Ireland for this psychological drama set in a remote Irish fishing village. His Brian returns from Australia out of the blue, reuniting with his Mum Aileen (a terrific Emily Watson) and Father (Declan Conlon). There is constant tension between the family after Brian's return, although Aileen is mostly delighted to have her son back again; it transpires she didn't even know whereabouts in Australia, and she helps him get back on his feet as he restarts the family's oyster trapping farm, abandoned after his initial departure. The crux of God's Creatures comes about when Aileen leaves Brian at a bar with Sarah, a former flame of Brian's. The next day, Aileen receives a call from the police, telling her a sexual assault claim has been made against Brian, and she is asked to corroborate Brian's alibi that he was with Aileen all evening. After Aileen has confirmed that she was indeed with Brian all evening, the film begins to press the mindset of all involved; in such a small community, word travels fast. The tension amongst the locals is not dissimilar to that in Mark Jenkin's Bait (2019) albeit for extremely different reasons, and this is where the film falters in its efforts to hold the audience's strain. God's Creatures is good but not great, solid but not spectacular, with very good performances from all involved, especially Emily Watson. Mescal is also terrific, his complete lack of seeming concern with the allegations leveled at him, or indeed remorse if he is in fact guilty, make for quite a character to spend time with, and the film is worth your time solely for Watson and Mescal alone.

6.4/10