In a windswept fishing village, a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community in this tense, sweepingly emotional epic.
Chuck says:
Aileen O’Hara has done what any mother would do. She told the authorities her son Brian was with her that night. It was an impulsive act, not one of thought or calculation, simply instinct. However, over time this rationalization begins to fall away as Aileen comes to realize the ripple effect of what she’s done has on her family and friends. Even worse, when confronted with mounting evidence that Brian likely did commit rape, she has to come to terms with not just the moral consequences hanging over her, but the legal ramifications as well. But protecting her boy…isn’t that what any mother would do?
That’s the question at the heart of Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer’s “God’s Creatures,” a fascinating, slow-burn domestic thriller that wisely doesn’t tip its hand as its central moral conflict plays out. The script by Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly and Shane Crowley is not only tautly constructed but wise enough to delve into the past of its central characters as well as how Aileen’s actions affect them. This is important as what Aileen does ultimately have an effect on most of them. Shot in an Irish fishing village, the sense of place and community is palpable, Davis and Homer immersing us in the day-to-day machinations of the unnamed town where intimacies occur not only personally, but at the workplace and in public.
Aileen is a role tailor-made for Emily Watson, who delivers perhaps her best performance since her debut in “Breaking the Waves.” This isn’t through lack of effort on the actor’s part but rather because the material she’s in is often beneath her. Many of her peers can deliver the sort of ferocity and anger needed for a role such as this, but it’s the contemplative moments where Watson excels and has few peers. There are plenty such scenes here and you marvel at what she conveys by doing so little.
And Aileen wrestles with a myriad of problems. Sarah (Aisling Franciosi), Brian’s ex and now his accuser is a co-worker of Aileen’s at the village’s fish processing plant. Seeing the young woman slowly fall apart, a haunted look slowly overtaking her, she can’t help but think that her accusations have merit. That the other workers in the plant know of Aileen’s deception doesn’t help.
Being her favorite, it’s difficult for Aileen to think Brian could do any wrong. He works hard and tends to his disabled uncle. That he’s always been his father’s whipping boy, a situation that drove him from home. This has only made Aileen more protective of him. Of course, her daughter Erin (Toni O’Rourke) can’t help but harbor a load of resentment, even more now that as a single mom she could use her mother’s help, yet she is once again tending to her prodigal son.
The ultimate confrontation between mother and son does not disappoint, tying into the film’s opening scene that, until the climax remains inexplicable. There’s an irony at play here that hearkens back to the Greek tragedies, a perfect complement to the gothic elements O’Reilly and Crowley employ. Some may see it as a bit too convenient, others, poetic.
Be that as it may, there’s no question that “God’s Creatures” has a way of getting under your skin. The quandary it examines proves haunting but what sticks with you is the sense of shame and guilt Aileen is willing to shoulder for her son. Then again, isn’t that what a mother is supposed to do?
3 1/2 Stars
