The Green Sea

A fine Irish genre/indie film. Somewhat customary for Irish genre work, the film has a very solid dramatic foundation with slimmer genre elements layered on top. It probably wouldn't be too hard to frame this as a full-on drama simply by tinkering with the styling, instead director Randal Plunkett goes for a darker, more mysterious approach and adds minor mystery and horror touches to his first full-length feature. The result is a rather stylish affair that heralds a promising career.

The film revolves around Simone, a bitter woman who lives alone in the countryside. She drinks a lot, listens to metal and spends her time trying to write her second novel. One night, driving home wasted, she hits a young girl on the side of the road. Reluctantly, she loads her into her car and lets her spend the night. The girl won't reveal where she's from and even though Simone isn't looking for company, she can't just kick her to the curb.

The Green Sea is a film that thrives on atmosphere. The soundtrack and soundscapes in particular stand out. Not even so much the metal tracks, which are more incidental and little more than background noise, but the haunting melodies and distorted rumbles that give the film a dense mood. Coupled with a grim and desaturated color palette, a lingering camera and sharply edited segments that drive up the tension, it makes for an impressively stylized film.

Plunkett does well to keep the mystery intact while revealing just enough to give the necessary context to the plot. The performances are solid, and the finale is memorable. The Green Sea loses a tiny bit of steam in the middle part, I guess a runtime closer to 90 minutes would've fitted the film a little better, other than that I had no real complaints about this one. I'm already looking forward to seeing what Plunkett will come up with next.

Lord Dunsany, Randal Plunkett has created a film that is rich and deep in meaning with many layers to immerse oneself in, a world full of characters both weird wonderful dark & light in a gorgeous bleak Irish landscape of wind, rain, hopes, dreams & fantasy he skilfully weaves the story

with outstanding performances from all of the cast but especially by its leads the always excellent Katharine Isabelle "Simone" in a career best performance & Ireland's brightest star Hazel Doupe as "The KId" their chemistry is electric

If you want to be transported uplifted taken on an original journey of mystery and fantasy dont miss this outstanding piece of cinematic art.

I went in with zero expectations and found this movie to be surprisingly impactful.

The actors were very well cast, and each portrays their character with quality. Katherine Isabelle plays the unpredictable, traumatised Simone with the genuine feel of lurching from one extreme to the next in search of something to take her away from her own memories. Hazel Doupe is an excellent stand offish, quiet kid, and is able to say much with visual cues, in comparison to the rants and outbursts of her co-star.

Of particular note is the character Justin, played by Dermot Ward, who seems to have a sincere desire to help. His interactions and attempts to assist Simone in opening up seem heartfelt and genuine. I'm surprised I've not seen more of this actor.

I was impressed with this movie overall. The house seemed dark and cold. The relationships between Simone and the Kid seem strained, whilst between Simone and Justin it seems awkward and frustrating. The Director definitely did well to convey the mistrust and fear of intimacy.

I would definitely recommend this movie.

Such a deep story, I totally love it The acting is so good too Everything was perfect about it and Katharine's acting was perfect as usual.

When I came across this film I was intrigued. An independent Irish film starring the awesome Katherine Isabelle with a trailer that made it look like a mind-bending tale of questionable realities. The type of film I really gravitate towards. I was even more intrigued when I saw that it was directed by an Irish aristocrat.

Unfortunately it doesn't work.

The trailer had prepared me for a film where the physical existence of "The Kid" was up for debate. The fact she doesn't have a name and she's a character in what Katherine Isabelle is writing adds to that idea. It's the same trope we've seen for decades in many different types of film, most notably in Fight Club. Plunkett then procedes to shoot the film as if that is going to be the truth. The only person who talks to or sees "The Kid" is Isabelle, persistant hints at the traumatic back story of Isabelle, the fact she's almost always drunk. A problematic character dealing with her issues in a very unhealthy way.

It turns out that's not what we should have been focusing on. The quirks of "The Kid" are the more important factors. The strange way she reacts to coffee is notable, but given the directions the film eventually goes in, there should have been more. If we are going to have such a radical change of direction and genre then in my opinion it should have been built up to. Have more hints that she's 'off' and we will follow you down the strange (and mildly confusing) paths the film goes into by the end. As it is the revelations come out of nowhere and are under-explored.

There are also very basic things that the 21st Baron Dunsany could have corrected. We've seen the scenario where a problematic character has their car graffitied, but when it's black paint on a black jeep, you can't actually read it. Having title cards that are red text on a black background also turns out to be very hard to read on a tablet screen (which lets face it is how this movie is mostly going to be seen).

Randal Plunkett had an idea. I'm not entirely sure what that idea was, because a little more exposition would have been helpful. He got that idea made with an excellent cult actress and turned it into a mediocre film. Shame. I think this had potential.