Gwen review – bleak but effective gothic folk tale

Gwen, the debut feature from short film and television director William McGregor, is an impressive tale of gothic folk lore unafraid to show a grimness of life often lacking in cinema. Superbly told and beautifully shot, the story takes place amongst moody country landscapes and dark parlours of dying candlelight. It’s also extremely well-acted by a talented cast – especially young lead Eleanor Worthington Cox, who has graduated from theatre (she played Matilda in the award-winning musical) to the titular role here.

She is Gwen, a teenage girl living on a small farm in 19th century Snowdonia at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Forced to take on a host of new responsibilities when her mother, played by the fantastic Maxine Peake, starts having seizures, she must also face up to a ruthless mining company who are pressuring the family to sell their home. Most alarmingly of all, perhaps, there appears to be someone (or something?) inflicting a nasty kind of misery on Gwen and her family, from sabotaging their livestock to nailing a heart to the front door.

Gwen is a bleak film, almost unashamedly so, and the moody cinematography and overcast landscapes serve to create a most unnerving backdrop (though overcast Wales has arguably never looked so beautiful). McGregor hasn’t set out to make audiences feel terrible purely for the sake of it, though. He is, in fact, tapping into the traditions of Gothic fiction to render something resembling a lovechild between Edgar Allan Poe and Thomas Hardy. Here, atmosphere speaks louder than words.

The movie’s biggest asset, though, is Eleanor Worthington Cox herself, who – at just eighteen – delivers what is sure to be a considered a breakout performance. Having already worked alongside big Hollywood players like Angelina Jolie and Johnny Knoxville in Maleficent and Action Point, she makes the biggest impression of her screen career here, so able is she to convey expressions of pain and frustration through her expressive eyes. It’s impossible not to feel bad for Gwen and her oh so miserable reality.

While its overtly grim nature won’t please everyone (though few are likely to head into this one expecting a fun-filled romp), Gwen‘s subtle chills and storytelling methods highlight it as one of the year’s most atmospheric and visually distinct films. It’s worth watching for both McGregor’s impressive command of his material, and for Worthington Cox’s star-making performance. As a foreboding slice of folk lore unafraid to plough the fields of despair, Gwen proves to be an impressive calling card for each of them.

★★★★☆

By: Jack Martin

Get Gwen showtimes in London.