If you’re a man, this kind of sesh will definitely be familiar, true man-on-man bromantic bonding. The film’s first act sees them having a highly believable lad’s bonding session. It felt like our two leads had a lot of backstory to work with and were therefore able to deliver a very convincing throughline. But almost all of this was subtly and carefully implied rather than being explicitly stated. We get the impression that Vaughn had emotionally distant parents and was a bully victim Marcus seems to have the self-confidence and slightly self-destructive side afforded by a more privileged upbringing. Vaughn, a shy but nice bloke Marcus, his larger-than-life but slightly unbalanced friend. This is sold by some truly phenomenal acting, including from supporting characters. The film is marked by highly convincing motives and actions and reactions from all of our characters throughout. The writing is tight and fat-free but never feels shoehorned or with an inevitable end-point. The sound design is understated but truly powerful and sells the film magnificently. I particularly enjoyed one shot of Vaughn’s dinner. Indeed, the cinematography is beautiful and effective throughout, never drawing attention to itself but is quite magnificent.
The countryside, almost a character itself, oozes Britishness and is both beautiful and haunting.
The film gripped me with a suspense I haven’t felt for a while. We know something awful is going to go down.
There’s an awful sense of inevitability from the very start of the film, even before the truly shocking and gut-wrenching inciting incident. But when an incident happens, their trip is turned into a nightmare that which will change their lives forever. Ironically, to hunt stags - all at Marcus’ expense. Two thirty-ish childhood friends, Vaughn (Jack Lowden) and Marcus (Martin McCann), meet up after a few years for a weekend away in Scotland to celebrate Vaughn’s impending fatherhood a kind of paternity stag do. Debut solo feature … a remarkable accomplishment.
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