A One Mann’s Movies review of “God’s Creatures” (2023)..
Here’s another A24 production, but one which is rather slinking into cinemas without much fanfare and will – pretty quickly I think – slink out again fairly unnoticed. “God’s Creatures” is a rather dour and depressing little tale, but it nonetheless has its moments: principally with some first-rate acting from the leads.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Brian O’Hara (Paul Mescal) returns to his remote Irish fishing village home after many years in Australia. He is welcomed with open arms by his mother Aileen (Emily Watson), who thinks he can do no wrong and that the sun shines out of his arse. But when an accusation is made, the continuity of the whole village is thrown into turmoil.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC: “Strong language, sexual violence references, domestic abuse”).
Talent:
Starring: Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, Aisling Franciosi, Declan Conlon, Toni O’Rourke.
Directed by: Saela Davis & Anna Rose Holmer.
Written by: Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly & Shane Crowley.
Twitter Handle: –
The prodigal son returns. Emily Watson and Paul Mescal star. (See the headline post photo for Aisling Franciosi). (Source: A24).
“God’s Creatures” Review:
Positives:
- There’s a strong sense of brooding menace that is successfully built up through the film’s second half. This is helped along by some sonorous and at times jarringly atonal strings on the soundtrack (by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans).
- The two leads – Emily Watson and Paul Mescal – turn in as good as performances as you would expect. Watson is good at playing these troubled and concerned woman. And Paul Mescal, basking in his success from “Aftersun”, is also on top form. He is SUCH a natural actor: in that he never looks like he’s acting at all.
- But the real acting surprise for me (given that the two leads were expected!) was Aisling Franciosi playing the family friend Sarah. Not only can she really act, but she looks stunning and has an angelic singing voice to boot. She reminded me all the time, through her mannerisms and acting style, of a young Rachel Weisz. Definitely one for my “one to watch” list.
- This is the fishiest movie since “Coda“. The fish sheds have such a sense of place (plaice? sorry!) that you are glad that the film doesn’t come with “Smell-O-Vision” (which, believe me, was a thing back in the day!).
Negatives:
- This movie left me curiously unengaged for the first 30 to 40 minutes of its running time. (When the action picks up a bit it does become more engaging: but, frankly, if people were not at the cinema and streaming this they might not last the course). It doesn’t help that you are left struggling to understand all of the relationships between the characters.
- Part of the comprehension issue here is the sound mix, making the dialogue quite indistinct. The accents don’t help, particularly with some of the cast (I personally struggled with Declan Conlon’s accent, playing Brian’s father Con). And I’ve worked in Northern Ireland for 20 years and probably have a better chance!
- The thing rather smacks of an arthouse project at times. There is a closing scene which goes on, uncut, for around 5 minutes that seems to be largely ‘art for art’s sake’.
Triggers
Note that there is an aspect of the story concerning a sexual assault (not shown) which might nonetheless be triggering for some viewers.
Summary Thoughts on “God’s Creatures”
A film of two halves, I was reckoning on a 2* or a 2.5* in the first half hour. But the story does become more interesting as the film progresses. Worth seeing for Watson and Mescal’s acting chops. But not a gripping “must-see” in my book.
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Trailer for “God’s Creatures”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyOk1QVDlsI .
