MOVIE PICK: GOD'S CREATURES

God’s Creatures opens with the viewer submerged underwater and struggling for breath, as the waves lap around and the darkness suffocates us. We know from the opening frame that it’s not going to be plain sailing.

The directorial debut of Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer focuses on a weather-beaten fishing village in Ireland, where oyster farming means risking your life as you take on the tide. At a resulting funeral, the return of a resident sparks joy, but an accusation of sexual assault follows soon after and, in turn, a series of events which reverberate violently throughout the village.

Normal People’s Paul Mescal stars as the prodigal son, with a mesmerising Emily Watson as the doting mother who instinctively provides an air-tight alibi, only to realise that her friend and colleague (an unforgettable Aisling Franciosi) made the claims. Mescal, sans-Connell chain, sheds the sensitive image that built his career, whilst we study Watson’s face for the tiniest twitch to see how she’s processing what her darling boy has been accused of. Little wonder that the trio were all nominated for British Independent Film Awards, with Best Lead for Watson and Best Support for Mescal and Franciosi. Performances aside, it's the long takes, ominous landscapes and stabbing orchestral strings that lends God’s Creatures a hue of horror that makes it stands apart from similar dramas.

If The Banshees of Inisherin was about men trying to find their place in the universe whilst wrestling with their sense of mortality (which we think it was), then this is about the women who are affected by those men who are all too sure of their place. An uncomfortable watch, absolutely, but vital viewing.

As an aside, what a brilliant thing to have on in Brum. The Mockingbird’s a cinephile’s dream anyway (and it looks lush since the refurb) but what a pleasure to go to a press preview screening without trekking "down there". Out tomorrow