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****
Dir: Clio Barnard (15, 98 mins)
The latest film from writer/director Clio Barnard who brought us the excellent The Selfish Giant is another foray into well-observed British misery. Ruth Wilson stars as Alice, returning home to the farm she grew up on with her brother Joe, played by Adam Stanley. Abused by her father (Sean Bean), she left the farm, only to return after his death to seek out the tenancy she believes to be rightfully hers. But the demons remain and with the farm facing ruin, matters take a dark turn. Wilson is superb as ever, conveying the loss of her childhood, raw determination and willingness to build bridges with her brother with deft, believable skill. Barnard is a great observer of human nature, allowing the actors to excel while placing them amidst an evocatively-captured landscape as unforgiving as the abuse suffered by all. Not exactly feel-good but another brilliantly captured corner of character-led life from Barnard.
Opens February 23