Given its title, this film is probably not what you think it is. This one was the first and so far only film directed by Tim Roth and it’s an extremely dark family drama about incest. It’s based on a novel by Alexander Stuart that was itself highly controversial, having first won a literature prize and then later rejected when a judge strongly objected to the subject matter.
A family faces multiple disruptions when they move from London to a countryside house in Devon and the mother is expecting again. Yet the close-knit family appears to be mutually supportive, with the sole exception being the sullen 15-year-old Tom. When the mother’s water breaks, everyone rushes to the hospital and in the darkness, their car overturns. Fortunately no one is badly injured and the mother safely gives birth to a baby girl. However one day while returning home, Tom is stunned by what he sees in the window. When he confronts his older sister Jessie afterwards, he says that he saw her and their father naked in the bathtub and implied that they were having sex. Jessie however denies that anything untoward happened. Later she seems to try to involve Tom more in her social activities, which leaves him confused.
This is an extremely painful and difficult film to watch, with the abhorrent subject matter standing in stark contrast with the majesty of the seaside landscape it is shot in. Unlike most films of this type, the horror isn’t obvious and clear cut, being instead insidious and confusing. The father is not an obvious villain as he has a jovial demeanor and does seem to care for his father. Instead it is Tom who seems to be unable to get along with everyone else and is unable to find any happiness in the new house. Yet we can also sense that there is something inherently wrong with the dynamics of this family. They are far too comfortable with being naked around one another than is healthy. Even Tom and Jessie seems close and intimate with each other to such an extent that it makes the audience uncomfortable.
The result is an intense psychological portrait of the people involved, covering the shame and guilt, the confusion and how affection can coexist with pain. The mental damage done to Jessie throughout what must have been years of this abuse is especially heartbreaking as her reaction to Tom’s anger is to offer herself to be hurt in order to make him feel better. The father’s insistent denial that anything wrong is going on while accusing Tom of being mentally ill is a perfect example of gaslighting. At the same time, the way that this film focuses solely on the present leaves many questions unanswered as we don’t understand how things got started with Jessie or how the mother keeps being unaware of what is going on. The ending though explosively dramatic also feels unsatisfactory as the victims are cheated out of a proper resolution.
There is no doubt that this is an excellent film and is notable for being so purely focused on the emotions of the characters that plot takes second-place. I do wonder why Roth so far has not made another one as the delicate care that he took with this one is so impressive. Yet I would hesitate to recommend this as it truly is quite painful to watch.