My Sailor, My Love review – woman on the verge in drama of male cruelty – The Guardian
Sscorching on the misty Achill island off Eire’s west coast, Finnish director Klaus Härö’s English-language debut grapples with the tough currents of late-in-life regrets and resentment. Cranky retired sea captain Howard (James Cosmo) – as soon as content material with shutting himself off from the surface world – is compelled to open his disorderly dwelling, and subsequently his coronary heart, to Annie (Brid Brennan), a housekeeper employed by his overworked daughter Grace (Catherine Walker).
What begins as a lighthearted autumnal romance regularly evolves right into a thorny research of familial grievances. Troubled by her personal sad marriage, Grace grows more and more bitter about her father’s new relationship. The explanations for her disturbing, self-destructive behaviours spring from a traumatic childhood, the small print of that are revealed late within the movie – too late, actually, to completely flesh out her character.
Nonetheless, in subverting the archetype of the lovable curmudgeon who might be redeemed by feminine companionship, My Sailor, My Love traces how male cruelty runs deeper than a mere matter of temperament. This complexity is basically conveyed via the superbly nuanced performances from the completed forged; just like the repetitive piano rating that sweeps in at each psychologically extremely wrought second, or the prettified cinematography that flattens the windswept fantastic thing about Achill into picture-postcard compositions, the script indulges in contrived and synthetic conceits. For instance, Howard suffers no fewer than three totally different well being scares within the third act alone, a tactic that feels emotionally manipulative.
Even so, My Sailor, My Love is value awaiting Walker’s wonderful portrayal of a lady on the verge of a nervous breakdown and the harm accruing from being the perpetual caretaker of the household.
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