The Road Dance (2021) User Reviews

Heart wrenchingly beautiful

[Boristhemoggy · 8/10 · 21 September 2022]

A young girl living on an island in the Hebrides at the beginning of WW1 falls in love, but her joy turns to deep despair.

It's rare we find a film like this. The story clutches you as soon as it starts. The music is so haunting and poignant. The acting from every single character in the film is top notch. The dialogue is only what needs to be said, with not a single word out of place. The direction is second to none and leads you through a young girls dream that becomes her worst nightmare.

These kind of films are what make me have a life long love of cinema.

They don't need special effects, they don't need blockbuster actors, they don't need trendy directors nor pretentious sound tracks.

If you love cinema, you will love this.

Very good movie silly ending

[elias_athan · 6/10 · 24 November 2023]

Nice movie but with a stupid ending and I don't mean the mindless happy end at the end of the movie. The problem is the stupid solution the writers came up with to justify how the girl discovered her rapist. The night the doctor raped her everyone was drunk and clearly everyone could be the girl's rapist. But when the girl realizes that the rapist is the doctor because he reeked of whiskey it's silly because anyone who would approach her and reeked of whiskey could be her rapist. It's not a strong evidence of someone's guilt the smell of whiskey especially in Scotland when the action takes place where whiskey is their national drink and everyone drinks whiskey so anyone could be accused of being the rapist. In my opinion, the identification of the rapist should be done by other elements, e.g. A button from the doctor's clothes, his watch, an element belonging to the doctor. It would be even more dramatic if the doctor himself approached her and told her that he was her rapist and asked her to forgive him. But identifying the doctor as a rapist because he reeked of whiskey is absurd and comical. The writers should have worked on it more to come up with a more plausible explanation of the identity of the rapist. Other than that the movie is very good and worth watching. The actors were all very good and Hermione Corfield who played the girl was also very good.

Good film.

[mick-meyers · 8/10 · 25 May 2022]

Was pleasantly surprise by the structure of the film,very well photographed,good script , strong cast.the ending through me a curve ball even though my wife had guessed it earlier.keepa up a good run of UK films .well done.

Reasonable, Let Down by the Ending

[proctorluke · 7/10 · 1 May 2023]

A reasonable film, well acted and beautifully shot.

A tragidrama in many ways, with a bit of mystery thrown in too, the themes of futility in war and also that of women's roles in early 20th century and the associated hardships and cultural taboos that come with that territory are all well-explored.

The film has two weaknesses in my view, the first is the ending - I won't go into too much detail but it is disappointing and departs from what it was building up to. The film would be an 8/10 if it finished ten mins earlier.

The 2nd is the setting and language. It isn't believable for a small Lewis village to be entirely English speaking in 1916 (it isn't believable in rural Lewis in 2023 even), which jars from fully immersing in the scene and finding it realistic.

This could have been circumnavigated either by having the film at least bilingual between Scottish Gaelic and English, or by setting the film somewhere just as rugged and isolated in Scotland but known to be English speaking eg. Shetland or Orkney would have worked just as well, and then slightly changing the rural activity from potato crofting to something else to suit the different location if needed.

Insisting on keeping the setting as Lewis, and even more so in that time, but with a 100% English language film was a mistake in my book.

Still a solid watch all the same, where you root for the protagonist.

deserves way more publicity.

[merlincym · 7/10 · 1 December 2022]

Not sure why this film is not promoted more it's certainly deserves to be.

For a start the scenery is absolutely stunning and provides a backdrop to a very sombre and dark tail.

The acting is superb, top notch, by some great actors and they tell the tale so well.

The cinematography is as exciting as the rugged foreshore and sea.

The story takes place around the midpoint of the First World War in a remote settlement as far away from the front lines as possible. However it is not a war film. It's a film about how a community comes together under difficult times, and how a family struggles in the bleakest of existences.

Without spoilers I will see there are a few hooks in this film that will certainly rock rock in your seat.

Definitely well worth watching.

Solid romantic drama, with great acting performances and a gripping story.

[imseeg · 7/10 · 19 September 2022]

The good; so nice to see a well made romantic drama again. I would like to give 8 stars for the photography, because of the beautiful low lighted scenes, which transported me to another era, with such beautiful mellow, dark colors.

More good: there isnt any fault to be found with this movie, because everything from acting to directing to the story is top notch.

I didnt know any of these actors but I was impressed by the leading actor's talent and charisma.

The story in itself is a solid romantic drama, which could touch anyones heart. It is a slowburning period drama, which might be a bit slow in the middle, but the dramatic final is quite rewarding, so have some patience, you will be rewarded!

Powerful, authentic, tragic tearjerker

[andypaul_gill · 9/10 · 25 May 2022]

I don't know why nobody is talking about this film. What starts out as a Catherine Cookson-esque costume drama in the Outer Hebrides during the First World War, complete with love triangles and suppressed passion - the kind of twee romance you've seen a thousand times before - morphs into something dark, gripping and gut-wrenchingly painful that leaves you exhausted but strangely uplifted by the end credits.

The power of this film lies in its authenticity and its ability to get into the skin of a character and allow you to see the world through her eyes. For an actress, it's the role of a lifetime, and Hermione Corfield is phenomenal, bringing you along with her through every trauma and every heartbreak. It is this central performance that really elevates the material to something that stands out from the crowd.

It's not for everyone. It moves at a slow and sedate pace, lingering in the landscape and giving scenes the space to breathe. And a warning: it can be quite triggering if you've experienced past traumas. But ultimately, this is a story about survival and about resilience in the face of the agonies women are often faced with. The only negative is the rather saccharin final scene. If they'd ended it a scene earlier, I'd probably give this a ten. But it is inspired by a true story, so perhaps it's true to life. The Road Dance certainly deserves a wider audience.

Drawn-out drama, desperately dreary, dreamy denoument

[joachimokeefe · 7/10 · 9 December 2022]

Kirsty McLeod is a feisty young girl on the Isle of Lewis in a subsistence-farming, close-knit community who suffers an atrocious fate at the local dance, shortly before her betrothed is called up to the Westerm Front.

In those days, it is clear, you were expecting out of wedlock, you were on your own. Add to that, the desperate demise of your community's young male population in the 'Pal's Battalions', and things couldn't get much bleaker.

I kept fast-forwarding, and I didn't miss much.

Annoying string quartet, an atmosphere of unrelieved misery, an ending that wouldn't be out of place in an episode of 'Friends'. Thought-provoking, when it isn't sleep-inducing. Very well made, but slow, and oh so earnest.

A deeply moving story that must be seen

[steveinadelaide · 9/10 · 13 December 2022]

THE ROAD DANCE was a wonderful surprise of a movie! The title, THE ROAD DANCE, didn't give any significant indication of the themes or style of the movie. However, this film is a lesson in life, family, friendship, and love - and the incredible pressures imposed on women in certain periods of history (and in some modern contexts still) to conform to social mores that oppress women and have the potential to destroy their lives.

The story takes place on the Outer Hebrides in Scotland during WWI just before the war breaks out. The main character of this deeply moving movie is a young girl named Kirsty McLeod, who lives in a small village that is patriarchal and rigidly conservative. Kirsty's character shows us how courage, strength, and determination can prevail even in the most oppressive of circumstances. She's a bright, beautiful girl who dreams of a better life and the chance to go for her dreams. Then a profound tragedy strikes, and things begin to unravel quickly. Kirsty is forced to choose between societal expectations of a woman or a more liberated choice that could potentially cost her everything she holds dear.

The cinematography of THE ROAD DANCE is stunning. The movie does an exquisite job of conveying a sense of the dark beauty of the Outer Hebrides. The strong female characters are all incredibly passionate and dynamic, and they find strength in each other during this most challenging time. Hermione Corfield, who plays Kirsty, is fantastic as she takes us through an emotionally intense journey, and she carries the movie with her breathtaking acting performance.

I won't say too much more about the plot, as it should be experienced in full, but I will say that THE ROAD DANCE is an important movie which every woman and man should watch. My only criticism is that the story should have ended before the actual end (if that makes sense) which seemed rushed and highly contrived. That aside, I was deeply moved by THE ROAD DANCE. It is an incredible film and I highly recommend it - go see it!

Outstanding

[davemoorhead · 10/10 · 10 June 2022]

Well wrote script, well acted, beautifully shot, great story, outstanding twists. This film is evidence why more independent movies need to be financed and made! Please make more films like this.

Thoroughly Depressing.

[crumpytv · 4/10 · 14 June 2023]

If you are feeling down, then definitely do not watch this agonisingly bleak tale of life in the Hebrides during the first world war.

From beginning to end it is downbeat with a predictable middle and highly improbable ending.

It is all here; rape, death, hypocrisy, bigotry and the always dreadful scenes of young boys being sent off to the killing fields of France with God supposedly looking over them. No laughs here!

Against the rural backdrop of the Scottish Hebrides, Richie Adams' The Road Dance, adapted from the critically acclaimed novel from John MacKay, tells a pretty bleak tale of grief, trauma and community. It's a powerful rumination on how hard island life was during WW1, and how one fateful night can alter the course of a hopeful young woman's life forever.

History

[dcarroll74 · 10/10 · 17 November 2022]

How does one review a harrowing true story? Maybe by going back to the future and going back to the past, in this case. As this is based on a true story, lets leave it there for the moment, and concentrate on the future.

Sex education has been around for some time yet, it still has problems. As soon as puples are old enough to enter these programmes, giggles emerge, as is normal and expected. Only lately has the word CONSENT, appeared in sexual vocabularly. This movie is the perfect example of the word, consent.

When the giggles have finally subsided, I would suggest that, this movie, along with The Magadelene Sisters, become requisite viewing for teenagers so that, they learn, the terrible historic side, of female abuse; and the way "men" were never held accountable, for what they did.

Maybe "Philomena" could also be an educational tool, towards sexual education, for the way women were sexully castigated, and men were men.

I'm a 64 year old male military pensioner, and I'm ashamed to be called a man. I can only imagine how all women felt, down through millennina because of what men did to them, without their consent.

I could apologise however, it would mean nothing. I didn't do it however, I'll always be castigated, being male. And NO amount of apologies will EVER make any woman whole.

A nother beautiful movie

[domialenic · 9/10 · 14 September 2022]

I read some of the comments here and I agree with most of them. A very heart wrenching and genuinely touching story well and convincingly played by the main actress Hermione Corfield. A good thing that we see independent movies reach this level of performance. Until just now there where a 196 ratings with an overall rating of 7.1. What got me fuming though is that there where still 20 votes that gave this gem a rating of 1. Instead of just giving a rating they should have made a review as there is absolutely NO justification with so much real awkward movies about well deserving of the lowest rating possible. In the beginning it was mentioned that the movie was inspired by true events which I find rather misleading. Of course one can always claim that something is inspired by true events. Doesn't mean to say that it was based on an actual true story. But like I say fiction or not. This are two hours of truly enjoyable viewing pleasure.

Gut wrenching

[jamiesonrendall · 9/10 · 1 May 2023]

There is so much gut wrenching moments and decisions made in this film that left me feeling incredibly sorrowful for so many people of history.

Firstly the main character's tragic rape being set against such a joyful moment. In a nonchalant scene she finds a private space to pee after declaring innocent love for a young man, only to have the night ripped from her. Society's shunning of women unwed with pregnancy puts this young girl in such an awful position. It's heart breaking to watch her stumble her way through the pregnancy and birth, to have the child born too early and subsequently die.

And then the mother, doing everything she can to protect her daughters is equally at a loss. She puts her children at risk because a society demands it of her. Another heartbreaking character.

This is than contrasted against the suffering of the young men conscripted to fight in a war they don't truely understand. As each young man dies or disappears we see the cost of again a society that fails to protect.

And then of course the insidious doctor who played the false protector so well through the story. We see a failing of society to condem the man as Peggy proclaims how it was always odd that a doctor such as he had come to their town- suggesting that this form of predation was not a singular act. Thus again society failed to protect its young and vulnerable.

The end gave breathing space allowing the lovers to rejoin although devastated from their experiences. It was a little jarring for the pair to reunite in such away but probably helps a wider audience digest the narrative as well as perhaps signal hope not despair.

Overall I felt as though society as a collective was chastised for its inability to help vulnerable people early enough as for it to hold the right people accountable.

The End?

[alexandrasmithies · 18 June 2022]

An excellent film let down, for me, by the ending. Genuinely affecting, as the sobs from the row behind me bore witness, and I was also reaching for a tissue at the over-the-sea-to-Skye scene which I assumed brought the story to a close - and should have done. I really hated the unexpected coda.

Selfish acts lead to tragedy

[Little_Tyke · 2/10 · 29 April 2023]

All the previous reviews give glowing comments about The Road Dance, but I watched it with an increasing sense of unease. I know the movie was set in a time when talking openly about sexual matters was considered shameful by all and sundry, but because of this shame the girl felt, a man died at his own hand, a baby died because the girl did not take proper steps to care for it while pregnant, the mother encouraged her other daughter to adopt underhand tactics to protect the family's reputation, and the police office was frustrated in doing his job as he should have done to bring the rapist to justice and prevent him from committing a similar attack on some other young girl. And all because the girl did not want gossip to spread throughout the community. Rather selfish really. I cannot rate this movie very highly.

Fantastic Performances

[olympicjam · 9/10 · 26 May 2022]

Saw this last night and went in knowing nothing. It blew me away with the exceptional performances, as well as how well written and beautifully shot it is. It is an extremely difficult watch at points, as it has some brutal moments, but it's never gratuitous.

Really lovely film that would have been be better had it ended a few minutes before...

[orosenb · 8/10 · 17 October 2022]

It is largely because this is not a "Hollywood production" that this film is so appealing to viewers like me. Throughout it seems genuine; it prioritizes depicting the story rather than building a plot engineered to entertain us, the audience. The script and the acting were good. I was both charmed and emotionally engaged - sympathising with the protagonist - glad at her 'wins' and sad at her 'losses'.

I wasn't even dissapointed by the fact that I correctly guessed who committed the crime way before the filmed revealed it.

This, in my opinion, in a really good and thoroughly enjoyable film. That said, unless you're a sucker for the "hollywood film recipe" just skip the last few minutes - stop watching around 1:48:00 - the film would be so much better without the ending that follows.

A heart wrenching story about an innocent girl with a happy ending 10/10

[RikkuXOXO · 10/10 · 8 April 2023]

How come I've never seen any promotion about this masterpiece? I came across this movie from one of the movie recaps channels on youtube and thank god I did. The movie draws you in from the beginning itself with its beautiful ocean and mountains scenery accompanied by a beautiful traditional Scottish music.

I don't know any of the actors but every character is well acted!

The movie is very well paced. Starting from showing the background of the village and the people in it. It's been a long time since I found an innocent romantic couple in films and the protagonists here are exactly that - Innocent, young, exchanging of beautiful words and love letters.

Then it gets to the tragic part. The story reflects the reality of rape victims and how they often keep silent due to shame and fear of being rejected by society.

Though it's tragic what happened to the main character, it's not all gloomy and dark. There's also some good shown by the villagers which restores out faith in humanity.

The unexpected ending is the icing on the cake. LOVED IT! Nowadays there's too much sad endings and I am glad this one is a HAPPY one.

This movie deserves more recognition!

Stunning

[davegrobler · 9/10 · 26 May 2022]

This was simply superb and deserves more critical acclaim . The lead actress (who I was not aware of at all prior to today ) was awesome . A difficult watch in places (hence the 15 certificate ) , but EVERYONE could do with watching ! A fabulous film...hidden gem ?

Stunningly Filmed

[nicolesammut · 8/10 · 18 December 2022]

Stunningly Filmed, beautifully felt... a perfect period piece that was felt by all in the cinema. I very much enjoyed this whole film. A little bit of everything for me. Location, accents, romance, heart ache, strong women, heroic men, mystery and love. The close up vision of each actress and actor were stunning and gentle. I would highly recommend seeing this one on a big screen if possible, to appreciate the grand, vast lands that the film was set in. Thank you for a story so beautifully told. Critics that did not enjoy this film, would be hard pressed to please, perfect for this very busy time of the year.

My kind of film

[simongdavis · 10/10 · 7 June 2022]

Excellent film. Didn't have any preconceived ideas. Beautiful performances. I read the book after seeing the movie and wasn't disappointed but as I suspected the storyline has been altered for the film but not to the detriment of either media. Go and see.

First World War tragedy well depicted.

[cathyannemoore-66196 · 5/10 · 30 October 2023]

Very Scottish. I did not know that the Scots lived in cottages like the one the main family lived in in the twentieth century so it was educational for me. This is another film powerfully depicting the futility of WWI and the poor families it decimated. Their innocence of the young men of what lay ahead of them in France is always the most heartbreaking. The innocence of the young girl is also a tragedy as she finds herself in trouble and with no one to turn to. I would have scored this film higher by a point or two had it not been for the rushed ending which does not fit with the credibility of the rest of the film.