Set in Yorkshire, Alice is an expert sheep shearer. Drifting from place to place, travelling 'wherever there is sheep'. With news of her father's death, she returns home to the family farm where her brother Joe had been taking care of their father and of the farm. Still haunted by abuse she suffered, Alice can barely enter the house, but she wants the farm. She and Joe, with built up anger, both apply for tenancy. Joe resents his sister's presence, not fully understanding what casued her to leave and Alice unable to cope with the past.
Inspired by the novel Tresspass by Rose Tremain, the story uses flashbacks and ominous appearnces of Sean Bean as Alice and Joe's father. He drifts in and out of present day hallucinations to flashback moments serving as a memory that won't go away. The sight of him or anythingassociated with what happened to her disturbs Alice, making her unstable. She wants to farm but not what comes with it. Despite his hostility Alice tries to work with Joe, even after he tries to set her car on fire. Joe is on edge, etching some out of life, but clearly angry at his sister disappearing and coming back suddenly upsetting his way of running the farm. There are a few moments where the siblings calm down, when Joe shows Alice why he hasn't cut of the fields, expressing a sensitive side, but its all short lived. Its only near to the end where Joe finally understand Alice's unrest and realises that he may have made a mistake. The crashing ending is a slight anti climax as the siblings aren't able to find resolution. The last scene, near wordless, has a tiny glimmer of hope that the can find a way to be the way they were but it may take a long time.
Set up like a mystery which usually comes with a character returning home from a long absence yet the mystery is revealed almost straight away. The film then becomes more about the siblings fighting over the farm. This would have been rather dull to watch but thanks to Ruth Wilson and Mark Stanely's performances this isn't the case.
It's alway exciting to see British films at the festival as they carry an extra buzz about them and Dark River had someting special to offer, mainly the two leads who were utterly devastingly brilliant as the estranged brother and sister.