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Cast: Eleanor Worthington-Cox (Maleficent) and Maxine Peake (The Theory of Everything)
In the film, Gwen is a young girl whose life seems to be collapsing around her. Struggling with her mother’s mysterious illness, her father's absence and a group of angry villagers threatening to take her farm, Gwen must find the strength to guide her family through the darkness. But as a malevolent presence begins to take grip of her home, it becomes apparent there is a greater evil that may be too strong to overcome.
In the stark beauty of 19th Century Snowdonia a young girl tries desperately to hold her home together. Struggling with her mother's mysterious illness, her father's absence and a ruthless mining company encroaching on their land. A growing darkness begins to take grip of her home, and the suspicious local community turns on Gwen and her family.
'Gwen' got my attention right from the start with its beautiful setting and amazing cinematography. The film is not going to be for everyone. This is a slow-moving drama about a woman who is alone with her two daughters after her husband went to fight in the war. The openness of the countryside and the farm home that seems to sit in the middle of nowhere creates a dark moody atmosphere right from the start. And the story is not one of joy either as the family struggles to survive while the powers that be close in to take their land away from them.
Advertised as a horror film I would say it is more a drama with some horrific things that happen in the film. Besides the look and atmosphere that made the film good the other was the cast. Eleanor Worthington-Cox is amazing as Gwen, the oldest of the two daughters who attempts to keep her family together at any cost and Maxine Peake who delivers another great performance as the mother, Elen.
As I said before this is not going to be a film for everyone but if you enjoy Independent or Art-house Cinema then I recommend checking it out. A film about the powerful versus the powerless and we all know how that normally turns out. This is a disturbing film but it is also unique and engaging.
Available now on DVD and Blu-ray with Special Features that include:
An interview with Maxine Peake ·
An interview with Eleanor Worthington-Cox
Released by Shudder and RLJE Films
*** 3/4 Out Of *****