Far from the Apple Tree

This film is one of the biggest cases of 'The Emperor's New Clothes' it's ever been my misfortune to witness.

Yes, it's very well shot... full of all the tricks of the trade in terms of shooting techniques, shading, contrasts, altered footage etc. If you were studying cinematography at college, you'd possibly cream your undies on watching this.

There's one small problem though... the movie literally almost bored me to death. I'm not kidding; it's a miracle I'm still with you now. What a load of twaddle.

I had no idea what was going on half the time, as random images and videos with no substance flashed in front of my eyes whilst pretentious music wailed in the background, and the other half of the film was taken up with poorly-acted dullish conversations between our aggressively uninteresting cast.

And what's with all the repeated scenes from earlier that add nothing to the plot? There's 'filler', and then there's THIS insulting way to alienate the audience even more.

The 'twist' isn't what you think it might be (the one in the script is noticeable from the first few minutes) it's that you wasted an hour and twenty-five minutes of your life on this drivel and you can't complain about it because the director knows how to use a filter in a fancy way.

Well, allow me to be the first to burst the floodgates wide... THIS MOVIE IS TOTAL RUBBISH. There, feels good doesn't it? 1/10.

Although there is very little in terms of actual violence and threat, this film has an effectively unnerving mood throughout, enhanced by the various video effects, the soundtrack, and the unclear motivations of several key characters.

Sorcha Groundsell in particular is very good in the central performance - at times gawky and uncertain, and at others seemingly measured and in command of herself and her emotions, although often heavily influenced by the last person she spoke to.

This is the kind of film that (IMHO) makes you keep watching although ultimately there's not a huge amount of plot as such.

Interesting - and signs of an interesting director.

I have two words to describe this drivel: Pretentious and Superfluous!! Although, I should save the latter word to describe the amount of shaky cam nonsense that permeates this film. Seriously, that "technique" was so antiquated by the time this "film" was made. It looks like the director was deliberately shaking the camera for the sake of looking "hip". The first 30 minutes of this was filled with rando shots of complete nothingness. Just a bunch of inanimate objects flashing on the screen for no apparent reason, no character development, and ineffectual banter between two uninteresting individuals! There was absolutely no mood to speak of. I couldn't even bother to finish watching this movie after the 30 minutes I described. And there's NO doubt that the so-called positive reviews were posted by either the crew members and/or their families!

This is directed by Grant McPhee, whose earlier 'Night Kaleidoscope' made such a virtue out of its very low budget. Although wildly different in mood and atmosphere, McPhee works his magic just as effectively for this story.

The acting - for much of the time a two hander - is excellent. Sorcha Groundsell and Victoria Liddelle are wonderful as Judith and Roberta respectively. Supporting cast is equally fine. So good is this, it didn't dawn on me until writing this review that there isn't a single male character.

Like 'Night Kaleidoscope', this film stretches the boundaries of 'horror' as we know it; in a recent interview McPhee has said how he fails to see the point of emulating the style of much bigger budgeted productions and instead prefers to extol the virtues of more modest resources - and he does this admirably. His films possess an intimate, claustrophobic often trippy sense of unease, even in a sprawling, beautiful location such as this.

The much discussed Maddy is an interesting character, deliberately thinly sketched and therefore a mystery with dark undertones. To discuss this more would ruin the build up of what is a pretty slim, but compelling, storyline.

I thoroughly enjoyed this vaguely Brontë -ish tale of melancholy and longing and eagerly await McPhee's next project - surely one of the most interesting and innovative directors of recent years. 8 out of 10.