Lapwing

England, 1555. A young mute woman (Hannah Douglas) struggles to survive in her outcast clan, due to the lascivious advances of their leader ("Peaky Blinders"'s Emmett J. Scanlan). Goodness this is not a comfortable watch, and I should mention there are very triggering scenes of sexual assault (so be warned). The story gives me "Breaking the Waves" (1996) meets "the Piano" (1993); with a captivating lead performance of the mute Douglas; helpless in the male dominated clan. She is brilliant; and the segmentation of the story is very cool. And there is lot to take away from the commentary of the film, the cleverness of a literally 'silenced woman' of the past in a post #MeToo world is very creative; though Scanlan's central antagonist needed fleshing out. Why is he their leader? What skills put him in-charge? At points his embodiment of toxic masculinity is very one-note and lacking subtlety. This is a low budget feature film, probably with very limited resources; so when I say the cinematography is GORGEOUS in parts, I'm taking Hollywood level beautiful. Whoever Stewart MacGregor is, my word, he's talented... BOOK HIM NOW!!! For an independent film I was utterly impressed, and forgive a lot of understandable limitations on low budget features (a few of the minor roles were... just not believable). Though independent or not I was disappointed the film triggered my CUNF rule (completely unnecessary nude female). It was pointless and made little sense beyond objectification. A very, very commendable and thought provoking drama. Just quite grim and traumatising in parts.

Showcasing 1500's England as an undeniably grim and grubby place to call home, debut director Philip Steven's small-scale but often impressively shot independent film aimed to replicate recent female centred period affairs such as The Witch, The Nightingale and Lady Macbeth and while it never quite manages to operate at the same standards as those noteworthy features, there's enough going on here to suggest a viewing and that all those involved have what it takes to bring it to the next level in the feature film landscape.

Following Hannah Douglas's mute and troubled Patience, who lives out an unenviable existence alongside her sister and perma-drunk brother in law David (a menacing and mumbling Emmett J Scanlan) as salt farmers in the unforgiving lands of 1555 England, Lapwing rarely if ever pauses for any moments of humour or fun as Patience finds potential love and salvation in the form of Sebastian De Souza's gypsy Rumi, who has been shunned by a recent royal decree and banished from being a part of the English society.

Shot in a Malick-lite way by cinematographer Stewart MacGregor and scored moodily by composer Lee Gretton, Stevens film which was born from screenwriter Laura Turner's raw and uncompromising script, never truly manages to nail its blending of genres that moves from hard drama, attempted trial against the odds love story and nerve shredding thriller, with Stevens aiming to cover some big ground in both scope and themes (religion, violence,bigotry etc) in his film that was shot over the period of a few weeks in the picturesque countryside of Lincolnshire.

While these various elements never click in a way that would've elevated Lapwing into one of those few independent films that manages to break out in a big way (a rare thing to do for films of this ilk in the post-Covid feature landscape) there's enough impressive components here that should please viewers willing to go on the dark journey the film and Patience go on as the horrors of David's oppressive guidance and the time in which we find these characters in makes themselves more apparent.

Unable to work with words, Douglas's turn as Patience is sure to capture the eye of those in the know and one would expect bright things from the budding star who shines brightest despite some solid if unremarkable work from her main co-stars Scanlan and De Souza and as the brief sub-90 minute runtime wears on you can't help but root for Patience to find her place in a world that seems hellbent on ensuring her life is as hard as it can get, leading to a tension riddled climax to a film that deserves to find a willing and accepting audience.

Final Say -

Not an uplifting experience but one that showcases a warts and all examination of a time and place that knew little in the way of acceptance or forgiveness, Lapwing is a solid debut from director Philip Stevens who gives his main star Hannah Douglas a notable canvas to launch her career from.

3 bags of salt out of 5

Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)

Really impressed by this bleak but beautiful slow burner. Hannah Douglas does wonders with her role as a young mute woman up against her controlling and terrifying brother in law (Emmett J. Scanlan). The landscape may be calm and peaceful but the relationships with their psychological, and ultimately physical, battles are anything but. Sebastian de Souza offers some heart to the proceedings and Sarah Whitehouse's tortured sister brings another emotional layer to a powerful and memorable picture. A welcome end of year surprise!

Wow, bad acting is hard to find in the UK, but the acting in this is cringeworthy. Script is inane and childish, camerawork and direction childish.

Oh and the 10 star reviews are both clearly written by same person using same phrasing, both with accounts whose sole IMDB activity is to give this a ten.

Zero stars.

Tormenting and menacing, Lapwing, filmed in a picturesque setting on the Lincolnshire coast in just 16 days, meant that the production was rushed, but still provided stark contrast between setting and place.

The female mute perspective of Patience, with a 16th Century helplessness of women, provides aspects that can be carried across to modern day. The film contrasted this with a cathartic finish. Patience is the perfect name for this character, providing reflections of those who experience oppression even in a modern context, her silence speaks volumes.

Character development was flawed, matching the characters themselves. David was as menacing as his troubles, and the hatred the audience developed for him was not entirely devoid of compassion.

Characters that could have been developed further were the Egyptians, and the hardship faced by them, along with more references to the gypsy way of life, which was more of a footnote in the film. This would have excelled Lapwing into its true pinned wing vision, echoing the discrimination that immigrants faced both then and now.

Worth a watch for the scenery, violent emotive nature, and provocation it awakened in thought.