In God’s Creatures – Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer‘s tense Irish drama – there’s nowhere to hide. Situated on a small, nameless, remote village on the coast of Ireland, the inhabitants live in each other’s pockets. The community is small and insular, and it seems that no one gets out. Add to this the recent drowning of a fisherman and you have a sense of the eerily sombre atmosphere in which Davis and Holmer set their story. God’s Creatures is a slow, slow burn. It creaks quietly through its runtime, allowing the viewer to sit with its characters and digest its implications. For all its contemplative pacing, though, its final act feels like a letdown, fizzling to something of an ambiguous ending rather than cementing its themes in a more coherent way.
Return of the Son
Aileen O’Hara (Emily Watson) lives a quiet life. She works in an oyster factory during the week and spends her weekends in the local pub. There is a sense she is unhappy with the nature of her life, and you feel that perhaps something is missing. That missing element could be her son Brian (Paul Mescal) who left for Australia some time ago and who hasn’t kept in touch since his departure. This means his sudden return is all the more joyful for Aileen, who has tellingly kept up payments on his fishing license in the hope he may one day come back home.
Aileen and Brian’s close relationship is reinstated and Aileen’s mood visibly lifts as they spend more time together. Brian is keen to restart his life and return to the sea to make a living. He flouts the rules in order to make quick money and is dismissive of the community’s feelings about this, much to the consternation of his father Con (Declan Conlon). It is here that Davis and Holmer begin to ramp up the tension: Brian’s presence hints at a fractious past, which may have perhaps been the reason for his emigration. As Brian fails to heed the warnings of the community – for example engaging in illegal salmon fishing under the cover of night, or staying out on the water too close to the tide coming in – a notable rift begins to develop.
Aileen’s relationship with Brian is tested one night when the police arrive at her door with a serious accusation: a local woman, Sarah (Aisling Franciosi) has claimed Brian sexually assaulted her. Brian claims he was with Aileen all night, and the police want to verify this claim. Aileen knows Sarah, and she knows Brian was with Sarah on the night in question. Yet she immediately confirms Brian’s alibi. Importantly, God’s Creatures makes little attempt to create ambiguity with the accusation. It is entirely clear that Brian very likely committed this crime, even if we are never shown the assault or even the moments leading up to it. That it happened at all is not in question.
A Patriarchal Community
Where Davis and Holmer are more interested in focusing on Aileen’s decision to lie for her son, and the impact this has on her relationships as well as the local community. There’s also much to be said for the patriarchal way in which the community itself protects Brian and castigates Sarah. One scene sees Brian laughing with a group in the local pub when Sarah and her friend walk in. After they try and order drinks they are quickly told to leave. Excuses are also made: Sarah is in an abusive relationship and perhaps its this man who is to blame. Perhaps she is just acting out.
Rather than listen to the voice of the victim, those around Brian and Sarah want to ignore the awkwardness and are in fact annoyed with Sarah for vocalising this in the first place. There touches on the segregated nature of the community as well: the women work in the factory harvesting oysters, while the men work out on the sea or elsewhere. There is a clear sense that the men and women share little of their lives with each other, and so this stratification creates an uneasy barrier between them that seems to be unspoken.
Aileen’s lie – obvious as it is to the closest people in her life who both know her whereabouts that night and who know of Brian’s behavioural problems – creates bigger and bigger rifts between her and those she cares about. As the drama burns out, Aileen loses connection with her daughter, and teeters on the edge of losing her job. More importantly, she is succumbing to her own internal anguish over what she knows she has done.
The Beauty of Ireland
The majority of this plays out in the rugged, windswept backdrop of working class, rural Ireland. Long lens shots keep the characters at a distance, and there’s a sense of the imposing nature of the world on them. We follow Aileen throughout, and so much of the story happens offscreen; as a result we are given the image of Aileen as someone isolated and broken, and this is translated through muted shots of Aileen sitting alone in crowded rooms. Chayse Irvin‘s camera captures the grey Irish days and rough danger of the sea, which is especially threatening to a village whose men obstinately refuse to learn how to swim, lest they be called to save someone from drowning.
The strength of God’s Creatures is predominantly through its acting: Emily Watson shines as the embattled Aileen, shouldering an incredible weight that threatens to buckle her. Elsewhere Paul Mescal uses his boyish charm to apply a sinister element to the lackadaisical Brian, especially in the later scenes where his charm is contrasted against the reality of what he’s done: Brian never fully takes responsibility for his actions, preferring to believe that it’s everyone else who takes life too seriously. Credit too goes to Aisling Franciosi, who straddles the line between vulnerability and ferociousness with an expert ease. Sarah is hurt by the community’s response to her, and feels the awkward tension and uncomfortableness of it all, yet she is also fierce and strong-willed, holding her own when she is punished for speaking out.
Conclusion:
Unfortunately, for all the build-up is excellent, the ending is rather more underwhelming. A shocking moment comes late on but its effect isn’t built on. Instead, we fizzle out to an ending that leaves the viewer feeling short-changed, for the thematic aspects of God’s Creatures to go somewhat unresolved. Ultimately it is a well-made, well-acted piece of filmmaking. If only it was able to tie together its elements a little better.
God’s Creatures screened as part of the 2023 Glasgow Film Festival.
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