Running at a lean 100 minutes, Palmer’s film gives us the measure of these characters in a short scene or two: one particular sequence in a busy pub, where we’re unsure of who knows what about whom, positively hums with quiet menace. Tony Curran, meanwhile, is equally good as one of the pillars of the village community, while Ian Pirie is flat-out scary as his older, more intimidating brother. Lowden and McCann are difficult to fault as the two leads – particularly as they grow increasingly haunted and cornered by their own misdeeds.
Gradually, Vaughn and Marcus’ character flaws are laid bare, from the former’s easy-going tendency to cave into the wild ideas of his friend, to Marcus’ appetite for drink and drugs at the same time, we see how an increasingly impoverished part of rural Scotland reacts when a pair of wealthy out-of-towners start disrupting their way of life. In his debut feature, Palmer confidently balances our sympathies, between the two leads – who in essence are anti-heroes at best – and the assorted beer drinkers, farmers and hunters who make up the supporting cast. Thereafter, Calibre takes on a vaguely Kafka-esque air, as Vaughn and Marcus try to hide the fallout of their fateful trip to the woods from the locals.
0 kommentar(er)
