REVIEW: Ruth Wilson stars in despair-filled ‘Dark River’
Dark River, a new 90-minute drama from writer-director Clio Barnard, is not exactly a walk in the park. The movie is a despair-filled exploration of a family coming apart at the seams, and yet thanks to anchoring performances from Ruth Wilson and Mark Stanley, the story holds up and invigorates.
Alice (Wilson, The Affair)) has returned to her family’s farm after years of living and working abroad. Her father (Sean Bean, Game of Thrones) has died, and she has come back to sort out the affairs of the estate. One obstacle is her brother, Joe (Stanley, Game of Thrones), who has been working the land, but cannot find a way to turn a profit.
The central narrative of Dark River is commonplace for many stories. The estranged sibling coming home after a family death has been done in theater, film and literature for many years. Barnard’s take is an interesting one because she finds a sense of authenticity among the local villagers in the sleepy English countryside, and she focuses her camera on the daily tasks of running the farm, including the tending and shearing of the sheep.
As the story progresses, Alice’s past with her father begins to emerge, and although most of the memories are mysterious and unclear, it’s obvious that it was a relationship built on abuse and exploitation. That evil from her youth drove a wedge between Alice and her brother, and the disconnect continues in the present day.
No matter what Alice says about the prospects of the farm and her plans to turn a profit, Joe is an obstinate stick in the mud. He has tended the sheep one way for his entire life, and he does not want advice from a sister who has been away for 15 years.
Wilson is a wonderful actress, someone at home on stages in New York City and London, on television screens, and movies. She builds her character in Dark River with an unmistakable reality and care, and that helps propel this sad story into a higher echelon.
Wilson is matched with the equally forceful and domineering performance of Stanley’s Joe. This brother character is scary when he turns violent (always living in the shadow of his father), and yet there seems to be a hurt underneath he gruffness, a yearning for a dream that is escaping this slice of the countryside.
Dark River is a small-scale story about big emotions, and thanks to Barnard’s directorial efforts and some solid performances, it’s worth a trip down this melancholic waterway.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Dark River (2018), written and directed by Clio Barnard, stars Ruth Wilson, Sean Bean and Mark Stanley. Running time: 90 minutes. Rating: 
