Aaron, a young misfit living in a remote Scottish fishing community, is the lone survivor of a strange fishing accident that claimed the lives of five men including his older brother. Read more …
Spurred on by sea-going folklore and local superstition, the village blames Aaron for this tragedy, making him an outcast amongst his own people. Steadfastly refusing to believe that his brother has died, he sets out to recover him and the rest of men.
One senses that Wright, working with the always bold and innovative Warp Films, has held out for and been allowed to make the film he had in his head; and that, along with the considerable acclaim he has earned for this work, bodes well for an interesting future.
MacKay draws us into the guilt and anguish of a troubled mind and director Paul Wright has a lyrical touch but this is a grim ordeal of a film.
It is ponderous and self-conscious. Its ideas could easily have been telescoped into a short film.
Some robust technique on show, but the drama is just not there.
A full week after first viewing, I find myself still sifting through montage images that linger in the mind like a half-remembered dream.
For most of its run, For Those In Peril is both intriguing and affecting, and it puts Wright in a Scottish subset of empathetic, experimental directors.
Profile: Paul Wright, writer/director of For Those in Peril
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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