paul2001sw-1

Hlynur Palmason's slow film 'Godland', supposedly inspired by the discovery of a set of 19th century photographs, depicts life in rural Iceland. What plot there is comes from the story of a Danish preist, send to the island but chronically ill-suited to his mission and deeply personally insecure. The result is at times painful and at times boring; but gradually it grows on the viewer, conveying the claustrophobia of lives lived with very few choices. There are many still shots of the beautiful icelandic scenary, slowly changing through the seasons; but no-one could accuse this movie of undue romanticism.

I came to 'After the Party' with a degree of dread. A did-he-who-it story of abuse allegations could end up hamstrung by its premise, forced to vindicate either accuser or accused and thereby to damn the other. And in the beginning, it feels as a viewer that one is being manipulated ahead of getting to see the final choice the screenwriters have made. But the series gets stronger. The character played by co-writer Robyn Malcolm may be a passionate woman, but she's cleary flawed and a difficult person to be around; while Peter Mullan's is creepy and controlling, regardless of what he did or didn't do in the past. As these characters gain depth, so the drama gains a purpose beyond whatever its ultimate resolution turns out to be. I won't betray that in this review, although a very minor spoiler is that the plot ends with a clearcut case of Chekhov's canoe.