Breakwater, 2025.
Written and Directed by Max Morgan.
Starring Shaun Paul McGrath, Daniel McNamee, Agnes Halliday, William Gao, Noah Radcliffe-Adams
SYNOPSIS:
A relationship is formed between a university student and a retired angler on the Suffolk coast.
The impact of grief and its potential for clouding all aspects of life is sensitively examined in Max Morgan’s finely made feature.
We follow religious studies student Otto (an impressive Daniel McNamee), who is spending time away from Oxford at the family home of his girlfriend Lucy (Agnes Halliday). The imposing Suffolk coastline looms large, with continually crashing waves offering a dramatic illustration of Otto’s particular struggles. For while charming and likeable, there is a hidden side to him. Trauma and unresolved feelings of guilt from a past tragedy, coupled with a degree of confusion regarding romantic preferences, leave him striving for clarity.
Within this internal maelstrom, a tentative romance with retired angler and navy man John (Shaun Paul McGrath) is ignited. John is a quiet and composed man who has his own trauma to contend with, and the pair delicately support each other in a cruel and unkind world. When their pasts threaten to violently haunt them in the present, they are left with the challenge to be true to themselves to overcome.
Breakwater is a poetic film with two big performances from McNamee and McGrath at its core. They succeed in ramping up the thoughtful and emotional heart of the story that beautifully illustrates a touching cross-generational relationship. As well as this, the film raises questions of guilt, tragedy, and the role of faith in coping strategies.
If all that sounds like heady stuff, well, it is. But there are some bright moments of levity here too. These mostly come from Otto’s archly performative Oxford roommate Matt (Will Gao), who encourages him to party and have fun.
The film beautifully contrasts the classically styled halls and dormitories of Oxford with the wild waves of Suffolk. These two locations are brilliantly captured and heighten the differences between the two worlds Otto finds himself in. Moving from the summer season over to Christmas time, Breakwater reveals a character study as solid as the Suffolk cliffs.
Intimately drawn and composed, this is a richly made piece that draws out personal troubles in a compelling way.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert W. Monk
