MOODS, MUD AND MYSTERY
Don’t miss this powerful family drama set on a Somerset farm after the recent floods
A beautiful and brooding drama set in Somerset in the aftermath of the 2014 floods. Clover (Ellie Kendrick) returns home following the death of her brother Harry to discover the family farm in disarray. Her alcoholic and emotionally unavailable father Aubrey (David Troughton) soldiers on relentlessly, refusing to discuss the circumstances surrounding Harry’s death.
As Clover struggles to piece both the events of that evening and the farm back together, the demanding reality of farming life is depicted in detail – the grinding mud, the mechanisation, the sacrifices required for survival. The challenges of managing a dairy herd in a climate of depreciating milk prices and bovine TB are presented without fanfare or romanticisation. All the while the landscape seems in mourning – dreary, sodden yet frequently spectacular.
Deft direction, powerful performances and striking cinematography combine to create an atmospheric and excellent drama about farming and family in Britain today. It’s a tremendous debut from writer-director Hope Dickson Leach.