For Those in Peril lurks in the chasm that accompanies recent tragedy, that ephemeral space in which questions escalate in urgency but answers can’t be found. As memories remain, faith hasn’t yet faded and the stages of grief unravel, the film forms its narrative – a tale of a lone survivor wracked by guilt yet willing to believe in something more than the obvious, and of the close-knit coastal community unable to comprehend the constant reminder of the widespread loss of life his presence signifies.
Aaron (George MacKay, The Boys are Back), an awkward outsider even before the sea-fishing accident that claimed his older brother (Conor McCarron, Neds) and four friends as its victims, is ostracised, alienated, persecuted and punished after his against-the-odds return. Only his mother (Kate Dickie, Prometheus) and his brother’s stricken girlfriend (Nichola Burley, Wuthering Heights) offer any semblance of comfort and support as the irate townsfolk callously circle their wagons; in the absence of an explanation to their pronounced and prolonged suffering, Aaron becomes an obvious scapegoat for the fury of the superstition-fuelled populace.
In his feature debut after shorts Believe, Photos of God and the BAFTA-winning Until the River Runs Red, writer/director Paul Wright takes audiences on a tour of his protagonist’s mindset, fusing every beat of his script and every flourish of his style to Aaron’s unfortunate experiences. Heightening the subjectivity of cinematic storytelling by transitioning between pristine point-of-view perspectives and purposely grainy home video remembrances, the helmer indelibly binds the imagery to his character’s outer manifestation of his inner world, creating a dark and murky tapestry of myths and memories.
Wright’s approach, while initially disjointed and disorienting, serves its purpose in evoking the mindset of mourning. With emotions amplified and the threshold for irrational behaviour extended, the possible and improbable surge throughout the moody film, trapping Aaron in a cycle of trauma. MacKay’s shell-shocked performance proves pivotal as the character becomes enamoured with religious reassurances and the solace of local folklore, perfecting the nuances of the character’s distressed state. Forced to be silent and insular by the cruelty of the township but desperate to connect, Aaron seeks the only solution his fragmented mind can fathom; expressive, but subtle and stoic, MacKay effortlessly embodies the growing divide that becomes a survival mechanism.
Accordingly, tempering the stark realities of grief in all its forms with the respite of magical realism, For Those in Peril becomes a finessed fable of fractured psychology – of the cost of remaining when all others perish, and the path to acceptance in the face of catastrophe. Amidst atmospheric but innovative aesthetics, a chilling character study and seething superstitious tension, the feature never takes the easy or expected route, utilising the heartache that springs from the darkest scenarios to turn a simple contemplation of sorrow into an extraordinary statement of hope.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
For Those in Peril
Director: Paul Wright
UK, 2013, 93 mins
Sydney Film Festival
5 – 16 June
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