Like his past work, Terence Davies’ Sunset Song sets aglow dusty memories of the past, telling a feminist story of domestic liberation that’s mythological in theme and scale despite taking place in a lonely homestead on the outskirts of rural Scotland in the early 20th century. No one does period drama quite like Davies, and his latest effort is just as transportive and lyrical as his previous work, though the story develops in a sort of inelegant, stilted way that doesn’t pay the strong-willed heroine at its center due justice.

The beating heart of the tale is a peasant farm girl, Chris Guthrie (Agyness Deyn), tender as can be and wise beyond her years. Her strength of spirit and nurturing nature stem from a horrific upbringing under her emotionally and physically abusive father (a heart-stoppingly terrifying Peter Mullan). We watch years pass at the Guthrie home, Blawearie, as...