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Dark River 15 rating

Clio Barnard follows The Selfish Giant and The Arbor with this searing and eloquent Yorkshire-set drama exploring the fragility of familial relationships.

Drama 2018 89 mins

Director: Clio Barnard

Overview

Inspired by Rose Tremain's novel Trespass, Dark River follows two siblings struggling over their inheritance. Holding on to a promise made long ago, Alice (Ruth Wilson) returns home after 15 years to claim tenancy of the family farm, estranging herself further from her grieving brother Joe (Mark Stanley), who had cared for their late father (Sean Bean). As tension grows, troubling memories surface and the real reason for Alice's absence is revealed.

Clio Barnard's expressive use of landscape and Adriano Goldman's haunting camerawork amplify two commanding performances, Wilson's displaying all the power and vulnerability so evident in her recent work on television (The Affair) and the stage (Hedda Gabler), with Stanley (Game of Thrones) equally compelling as a man who has squandered his life in denial of the past.