WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
What we choose to imagine, accept, or give credence to. Each and ever day that comes about, we’re faced with decisions about what to follow, the associated mindset it places within us, and the accompanying actions that might then manifest from it. While our free will is assured, there are those times where outside influence begins to weigh upon our thoughts, the voices of reason fading to become whispers of conflict that war inside our very being. As is so often the case, it then comes down to exactly what degree of power we give it all–and whether it is for ill or good. In a small English seaside town, a young boy named Georgie (Noah Silverstone) is caught between painful loss, the extremes of a militant-minded yet caring older brother Trey (Ruaridh Aldington), and his own innocently idealistic notions about life when the sudden appearance of a mermaid (Smilla) throws his world, and choices, even more askew, causing everything to be upended in a whole new way that he might or might not be able to work his way through.
Next, my Mind:
Radicalized political ideology, embattled notions on immigration, and pure fantasy all collide with a resounding crash that is only enhanced to further impactful magnitudes by presenting a potent portrait of the human heart, an afflicted, blurred conscious, and a longstanding, silenced voice through the newest 18-minute indie short film effort from Irish writer/director/executive producer Patrick Ireland along with producers Annabella Casaburi and Jessica Romagnoli. Films that are aiming to make strong statements about a particular cornerstone topic CAN be a slippery slope, as for this critic anyway, there’s a fine line between coming across to “preachy” and even overtly biased vs. allowing things to still remain even-handed while managing to successfully MAKE a point that resonates deeply and reflects pertinency to either the past or contemporary times. Highly thankful to say that this film does all of the latter with compelling, affecting applicability to a hotbed issue we currently face in many countries. It is a stark reality of shifting and divided viewpoints on this that is understandable but also must make us look at ourselves AS people to determine how to effectively handle things in a manner that is practical yet mutually benevolent to all.
Fanaticism, fairness, and fractured societal harmony arise as just a few of the thematic explorations we are witness to through a narrative which sees a young boy already struggling with heartbreak being inexplicably (and honestly involuntarily) drawn into brewing chaos while simply attempting to find solace in his own individual state of being and the uniquely fantastical catalyst that pushes him in a direction that will determine who he is and how he ends up. How we are so easily leveraged by external factors that can alter our perspectives beyond what we would normally, personally, prefer or choose is a powerful thread that weaves its way through the tapestry of this story, and to showcase this with the foundational, often controversial, but understandable dilemma surrounding the arrival of immigrants and the growing influx so many areas are seeing this occur in is intelligently conceived and subsequently conveyed, illustrating the true faces of both compassion and animosity towards them with unflinching strength. There’s already too much overall malice loose in the culture today as it is, as as stated above, how DO we discover the means to arrive at a logical resolution without engaging in hostility, since differing opinion will always exist.
While we’ve seen many a film that addresses this subject matter, what wholly makes this effort stand out is a completely unanticipated element–fantasy–here depicted via a mermaid washing ashore and how she affects the lead character’s journey as well as his entire handling of the inner turbulence he’s confronting, both lingering and newly forming. I find the excellence of indie cinema in what seems on the surface a totally off kilter pairing of genres as there’s both a literal and metaphorical adventure we’re taking through the appearance of this mythical creature and how she plays into the grander themes being looked at, much less how her presence could prove to be a significant cause for one person’s actions to be carried out that potentially makes or breaks them. Given the narrative’s emotional volatility, delivered in multiple degrees of intensity and purpose, adding this unanticipated, imaginative facet to a tale of familial unrest, the abiding bonds of brotherhood, hate, frustration, desperation, search for hope, need for inward healing, political fires, and maintaining national identity while having to face inevitable change is a stroke of genius, and it WORKS, folks, it WORKS. In SPADES.
By the film’s finale, which WILL leave its mark on you with unequivocal force, the meshing of it all and the revelations of the awakening it brings about is as unsettlingly jarring as it is provocatively inspirational. Silverstone is a shining example of the the next generation of young actors out there in the indie realms and one to watch for in this critic’s opinion as he grabs hold of you as a viewer with a level of such believably fervent gravitas coupled with an achingly impassioned vulnerability through his role as Georgie, a boy wrestling with situationally self-induced reticence and tumultuous home life that has now become a raging within him as he finds himself questioning all that he stands for or wishes to support while encountering a creature of lore than causes him an increased stress in dealing with all he is. Bolstered by his older brother, though also courting heavy discord due to him as well, whether Georgie will withstand the coming storm remains in question, and Silverstone navigates the character through this with an indelible maturity and stirring resolve.
Primary supporting roles arrive first through the utterly steadfast, equally ardent and energetic Aldington via his turn as Trey, Georgie’s older brother who’s just as much in his own world of inward turmoil as he is the ever-present and dogged guardian of his little brother’s well-being. Yet, it is also due to Trey’s involvement with a local group of young militants who wish to put a more than emphatic end to the newly arrived immigrants in their small town that begins to cause him to start assessing if their hate-laden propaganda and violent intentions are the solutions to the perceived, or even if legitimate, problem. Trey’s ability to stand up more to the group’s leader becomes paramount even as, like Georgie to an extent, peer pressure sets in with a vengeance. But, how all of this intersects with his own plight as well as that of Georgie is affecting, persuasive, moving, and fully credible thanks to Aldington’s performance selling us on the character’s manner and intent with grounded poise.
Then there is Smilla (whose full name is actually Smilla Erlandson) as the titular Mermaid who Georgie finds washed up on the rocky shores of their little town one random day when riding his bike back to home. Their initial moments are filled with that parable mix of curiosity, then trepidation, then somehow trust when they both believe there is no threat present. But, how this will then play into the pair’s respective stories is what provides a serious punch to events and for the screen time Erlandson is granted, she is spot on, imbuing the character with an understated vigor and heartbreaking sorrow that plays into the narrative with profound impact. Additional turns are present from Thomas Devlin who is pure fiery resolve and ire as Stewy, the vehemently cold, calculating leader of the Knights of Avalon, a right-wing group he’s formed to take back their town from the “invaders” sheltering there, Eddie Chamberlin as Lee, another of Stewy’s recruits who’s just as fanatical as his leader, Boo Miller is Char, the lone girl of the group who also shares their bigoted viewpoints and who isn’t the best influence on Georgie.
Mark Keegan is Rob, Georgie and Trey’s father whose personal grief and reliance on alcohol due to it taints the boys’ life at home, more so for the timid, traumatized Georgie. Additional “appearances” are voice only from Catriona Hinds and Ruairi Conaghan as a news journalist and right-wing extremist respectively. So, in total, “Ill Fares The Land” is a sobering statement of our modern times with its politically polarized reality, contestations over immigrants and their status, and the blatant division over methodologies to handle it. Furthermore, it’s also a dive into the human condition, our ever-present penchant to lash out and attack that which we don’t understand or wish to accept, and the pressing need to find better ways to manage a situation that does need resolution. Let’s do so, but without hate, anger, and violence. Because, if not, what does that say about what we’ve become? We certainly don’t need any more sadness, folks, but rather solidarity.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
