Review: 'God's Creatures": Emiily Watrson Carreis Psychological Drama That Turns On A Lie

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28 Oct, 2022

At its heart, God's Creatures is a tense psychological family drama that turns into a lie, a lie so destructive that it threatens to tear apart everyone who opposes it, from the workers at an Irish fish processing plant to the family and the narrator, Eileen. O'Hara.

Emily Watson is at her best, gruff, conflicted and sympathetic, inhabiting Paul Mescal's portrayal of her son Brian, who returns to a fishing village in Australia after years of being missing.

Eileen, who is the factory manager, is happy to be back, albeit after the fisherman drowned, and tries to help Brian get the family's oyster farming business back on track.

And mother and son leave together, leaving father Con (Declan Conlon) at home with grown daughter Erin (Tony O'Rourke) and baby. At the bar, they tell stories but never explain why Brian left or came back, they try to dream about the future and meet Sarah Murphy (Aisling Franciosi), a factory worker who has had a very difficult life in the city.

The lie comes as Eileen is being questioned at the police station during one of her pub crawls a few weeks ago. The effects of this begin immediately and continue until the film's gruesome ending, which is not a happy ending for anyone.

God's Creature is directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer, the team that made the excellent film The Fits a few years back, about an 11-year-old girl who joins a Cleveland dance troupe.

Writer Shane Crowley and producer Fodla Cronin O'Reilly bring their American perspective and observations to a script they've been working on for years; the story is rooted in the city where Crowley lived, so it's about revealing a vision of life where everyone is connected to a community. and as the last part of the image shows, they all have dark secrets that are passed down from generation to generation.

God's Creation has been classified by some as a thriller. But it's only at the end that it comes close to being a thriller, and even then it's too closed and indirect to fit that genre.

From the haunting cinematography and haunting Irish music to the performances, the film focuses on the psychological impact the lie has on society, family, and most importantly, Eileen.

Watson shows this effect just by looking. These views range from empathy with the factory workers at the beginning of the film, to Brian's anguish at the bottom of the boat on the way home, to joy, conveying an essence of "God's nature" that is hard to shake. .