HHHHI WILDFIRE (15)
An elemental force overturns a precarious peace in a haunting and brilliantly acted debut feature from writer/director Cathy Brady.
After a montage of news footage detailing tensions in post-Brexit Northern Ireland, Brady appears to brush politics aside to focus on the fractious relationship between two sisters. Kelly (Nika McGuigan) was officially declared a missing person when she fled her unnamed Irish border town for England. When she shows up at the suburban house of her sister Lauren (Nora-Jane Noone), her brother-in-law tentatively invites her in. When Lauren returns home from her shift in a warehouse, her initial reaction is anger. But the bond between the sisters is too powerful to sever.
Kelly has mental health issues, possibly linked to their mother who may have taken her own life. But there’s also something primal about Kelly. She bathes in a lake in her underwear, is found digging up the garden at five in the morning and dreams of fires raging through the countryside.
In one startling scene, the sisters dance to the jukebox in the back room of a pub. As the music builds, their movements become almost tribal. As past traumas resurface and Lauren’s life is upturned, it becomes clear that these two women desperately need an outlet for their fury.
As we discover a link between their troubles and Northern Ireland’s history, the opening montage begins to make sense.
The film’s final blow comes at the end with a dedication to brilliant lead actress McGuigan who died of cancer at the age of 33 shortly after the film wrapped. Tragically, McGuigan, daughter of boxer Barry, didn’t get to see the finished film. It’s the kind of performance that launches careers.
In cinemas now