Rose of Nevada

This quietly surreal movie is very understated in its presentation. But in its DNA, you can find parts of "Triangle" as well as parts of "Ghost ship" and also "And When the Sky Was Opened", which is an episode of The Twilight Zone from the original series back in 1959. It is quiet and it is understated, but it is unsettling and engaging. I really like the portrayal of a normal person being put in such extraordinary circumstances and finding his place in the narrative of the world. I recommend this if you want to see something about causality and time, but you aren't a fan of the axe-wielding maniac in "Triangle", for instance.…

Surreality is an intriguing premise in entertainment, and, when skillfully employed (generally in a sci-fi context), it can make for compelling viewing. But deft handling of the material involved is what makes all the difference, and that’s where this latest effort from writer-director Mark Jenkin doesn’t quite hit the mark. Life in a coastal fishing village in the UK’s Cornwall region hasn’t been what it once was for 30 years. Overfishing, coupled with the mysterious disappearance of the fishing boat Rose of Nevada, left local anglers without a resource to exploit, not to mention more than a little bit spooked. However, when the craft suddenly and inexplicably reappears in the harbor one day three decades later, the remaining residents of the now-rundown community are even more mystified. That’s especially true for the boat’s owner, Mike (Edward Rowe), and the widow of one of the missin…

If you saw Mark Jenkin's "Enys Men" then you might have an idea what to expect in this similarly photographed and styled mystery. This time, it's a Cornish fishing boat called the "Rose of Nevada" which has a reputation mired in suspense that serves as the focal point. It requires a crew of three and those consist the enigmatic captain (Francis Magee), "Liam" (Callum Turner) and "Nick" (George MacKay). The latter needs the money after his attempt to fix the leaky kitchen roof left him and his family with a man-sized hole. The outgoing charmer "Liam" is something of a mysterious young man, too, with a provenance about which we can only guess and then there is their skipper who resists any of the shore based temptations even when they return with an hold full of fish. It's on their first return from sea that their stories starts to twist. "Nick" goes home and nothing is as he left it just …