Setting a thriller by the coast gives any film an automatic
sense of mystery and dread all at the same time, especially if said film begins
at night. The waves crashing against the rocks sets the tone and foreshadows
conflict but just waves coming in and out of the shaw, with a rain heralding the
arrival of something sets up an uneasy sense that something isn’t quite right,
at least that’s how Claire Oakley’s debut starts.
Teenager Ruth travels to a Cornish holiday caravan park to
be with her boyfriend Tom of 3 years. She eventually settles into life at the almost
deserted park in its off season. She gets a job and even makes a new friend,
wig maker Jade. But after finding possible evidence that Tom may have cheated
on her, her paranoia turns to obsession, making her question her own self-worth
and a new sexual awakening.
As a mystery and dive into possible insanity, the story and
character work perfectly. Slowing dragging you into the troubled and rather
bewildered world of Ruth’s. But the rather skewed shift into Ruth’s attraction
towards the more confident but separate from it all Jade is unexpected and eventually
feels forced, despite the one or two indicators that Ruth isn’t entirely
comfortable with herself. As tries to follow possible clues as to whether Tom
has cheated on her or not are fantastically shot, making each bizarre discovery
feel like a piece of a bigger picture that, like Ruth, we haven’t fully grasped
yet. Ruth and Jade’s friendship is built to feel like Jade knows more than she
lets on but the quick switch to the film actually being about Ruth’s new sexual
awakening is odd and out of place. But as soon as its established that THIS is
what the film is really about the poetic imagery vanishes and feels empty. The
mysterious edge the film began with washes away and leaves us with a few romantic
moments but ultimately has so many questions left unanswered.
Despite the feeling of being left without a solved mystery, Claire
Oakley’s debut feature does make you wonder what she has to offer next.
Beautifully shot and hypnotic (to begin with) is feels like a promising beginning
and excitement to see what she does next.