Criaturas do Senhor

God's Creatures has an atmospheric setting and a great cast. But one huge flaw in the script fatally holes this ship below the waterline.

Brian returns from an extended sojourn to Australia and his mother Aileen is overjoyed. In fact, she is so happy that she fails to consider why her prodigal son was considered prodigal in the first place. In the scene where Brian appears, it is pointed out that he made no contact while in Australia, and no one even knew what city or town he was in.

Now, that is fine for that scene, but the question of what Brian did during his time in Australia is never re-visited. He meets old schoolmates, a bartender who is enamoured with him, but absolutely no one broaches the topic of Australia. This bizarre omission undermines all the work done to create an authentic sense of place and people. And it would be an easy fix, by, for example, having Brian tell contradictory versions to two people.

Whether it was not discussed in script development, or written but not shot, or shot but left out of the final cut, I do not know. But that egregious misfire in the creative process ruins what could have been an immersive, enjoyable cinema outing.