For Those in Peril, 2013.
Written and Directed by Paul Wright.
Starring George MacKay, Kate Dickie, Jordan Young, Nichola Burley and Michael Smiley.
SYNOPSIS:
The sole survivor of a fishing accident struggles to come to terms with the loss of his brother, whilst discovering that he has been cast to the fringes of the community.
Paul Wright’s feature debut pulses with the conviction of a veteran filmmaker. Whilst For Those in Peril possesses shades of the ancient myths, and in particular the journey of Odysseus which is shadowed in Aaron’s (George MacKay) journey, it is a decidedly more tragic return home for the latter.
The film begins following Aaron’s return home, the sea’s treacherous deed covering the town with an oppressive ghostly presence, which is caught between the past and the future. The community is pre-occupied with mourning the dead than celebrating Aaron’s miraculous survival. This lone survivor of a fishing crew serves only as a reminder of death, and in keeping with superstition and the mythical presence of the sea in the film, Aaron is tainted by his miraculous escape from the jaws of death. One might perceive his good fortune to have escaped death, but it is also his misfortune. Neither he nor those around him will have peace until the debt of a soul has been repaid to death.
George MacKay’s turn as the tragic protagonist who becomes an immigrant within his own home gives a new meaning to the idea that you can’t go home again. But what MacKay possesses is the stony quality of the masculine hero with the emotional and sensitive frailty of his feminine side. MacKay’s performance anchors what is a riveting emotional story that touches and stirs ones emotions.
Startling is Wright’s reverence not only towards the narrative but also the image and the sound. He creates a moody piece; a dance between narrative, image and sound in which Aaron is the pole around which they dance. From the very first images the film feels torn between documentary and narrative filmmaking; a fictionalised account interspersed with archival footage. It is a creative choice whose roots lie in the tragedy of the story. Wright positions documentary and narrative filmmaking as complimentary forces, and in so doing suspends our belief so that the ghost of the actuality of events lingers in the back of our minds.
But if the watery graves of mariners and fisherman litter the ocean’s depths, the sea is the film’s antagonist in this tragic tale. Our intimacy with the characters, and the intimacy of the characters to the elements recalls Michael Powell’s The Edge of the World; intimacy merged with the spatial vastness – the scope of life and death.
Wright even merges the literary tradition through poetic verses spoken by his cast with lyrical voices that contextualise the suffering, and cite a respect of God fearing awe of the sea. One almost senses a return to times when the sea was to be feared and respected, a great antagonist that robbed communities of their men, and like waves crashing against the land, broke familial bonds. For Those in Peril is therein most aptly regarded as a tribute to the past and the enduring human spirit in the face of death.
A drama that pulses with perilous death, For Those in Peril is a becoming title. Wright masterfully touches upon communal themes and harsh realities to imbue his debut feature with a meaningful subtext that will resonate deeply. From the metaphorical death of the lead protagonist unwelcomed home, the film is caught between the metaphorical death and the actuality of death. The sea’s crime is murder as well as metaphorical murder – the lives of Aaron and the community forever changed in act of metaphorical as well as the actual act of murder. The hard truths of paternal preference for the first born, and the deathly reminder of the living resonate as powerfully drawn themes. The fishing town located on the sea creates a fringe setting which is home to the displaced protagonist, an effective use of spatial symbolism.
With his feature debut Wright has crafted a special film, and one that recalls the classical filmmaking of Powell’s tale of man versus nature and the elements. It captures the tragic truth that we are haunted by the spectre of death, so much so that we hold more reverence for death than life; fearing the state of unconsciousness more than we fear the conscious.
It is the conscious camera that perhaps imbues the film with its ghostly presence, the film leaving us with the disconcerting impression of a story told in a place where life and death meet; of youthfulness before a journey or rather trial by fire in mythologies great antagonist – the sea.
For Those in Peril is released on DVD in the UK on 3rd March, followed by a release in Italy on 6th March and Portugal 23rd March (TBC). The film is available now via VOD in France. For more information on For Those in Peril visit: www.forthoseinperilfilm.com or visit the film’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ForThoseInPeril.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Paul Risker is a freelance writer and contributor to Flickering Myth.
Originally published February 18, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
