True North

True North hits the ground running. It's never less than engrossing and the performances are uniformly excellent.

What sounds like a derivative thriller: A crew of fishermen facing bankruptcy decide to smuggle Chinese immigrants from mainland Europe to Scotland, could easily have traded on clichés for it's effects. But writer/director Steve Hudson creates an all together more complex portrait of what essentially decent people will do in desperate circumstances.

Martin Compton shows a maturity and stoicism in his performance.

Peter Mullens character has the greatest arc; as an ex-con who lives his life at a superficial level to avoid engaging in anything deeply who has his humanity awakened by the plight of the immigrants stored in the belly of the boat.

Gary Lewis quietly exudes the desperation of man whose working life is based around daily failure.

Steven Robertson is excellent as the uptight cook from the Western Isles who is terrified of his own sexuality.

But the real revelation for me was first time actress Angel Li whose facial expressions are pages of dialogue in themselves.

My criticism of the film is not in the story itself but the state of the Scottish film industry with again, another Scottish story being shot predominantly in Ireland.

In closing, I just hope True North gets the distribution deal that it deserves. It will probably be marketed as a thriller but it is so much more than this. Go see it.