I have never really been a big fan of productions from the United Kingdom, and to some degree that feeling still remains. Something seems off with many of them, either focusing on depressing working class narratives or instead showing the total opposite with periodic pieces and shows that just don't really seem all that close to the reality of life here. I think much of this stems from the fact that this land is ultimately quite boring, where its most interesting times are behind us. And the present is riddled with such disconnect between classes and parts of the country that it's quite difficult to actively portray. Though in recent years I can't deny that productions from Northern Ireland have been somehow pulling their own weight quite a bit. With many impressive hits that puts the stuff London throws out to shame. Much of this is due to Ireland's sudden increase in supporting the arts, throwing money at new and old filmmakers and trying to spread more cultural awareness through it. Ireland itself is a bit of a weird land, having distanced itself from England's reign quite a bit. Taking pride in its more independent nature. The result is that I find the most productions I end up watching do actually come from Ireland rather than England.
Truthfully, part of me saw that Unwelcome was a film from the UK and instantly judged it, almost shrugging it off. But I gave it a chance out of curiosity, and I found it quite decent despite having many strange ideas; ones that are often found within these films, where independent filmmaking here is very relaxed and the result is just utter weirdness being displayed within the characters and story. While I don't think this is always a negative, it can mean that filmmakers here tend to get a bit carried away and thus pulling their audiences out of the immersion of their stories. I've seen it first-hand in productions, and found myself questioning why such decisions were made. Though sometimes these odd decisions can work in their favour, using key moments and lines to promote themselves through surprise when budgets are thin. But Unwelcome doesn't seem like a film on a low budget, even if sometimes you can clearly tell it is.
Unwelcome
Unwelcome starts off with a pretty relatable introduction: a young couple in London are trying desperately to have a child and kickstart their lives into the next chapter together. Though they're living in London, a place full of crime and poor living standards and certainly not ideal for raising a child. This is something that people don't really display in cinema here, the reality of London in which it really is just an overpriced, crime-riddled hell void of soul. In this environment comes a brutal break-in that traumatises them extensucely. Coincidentally, a relative of theirs has died and left behind a nice home in the countryside of Ireland. To no surprise, this is a more ideal place to start a new life and raise a child. From here you can already tell that this film has a certain charm to it, some quality that comes from the cinematography side of things. Likely a result of vintage lenses rehoused for cinema purposes.
In terms of the narrative, as the couple move into this new area, they slowly discover a weirdness to it that stems from strange rural individuals and superstition. There comes a trope within these sort of films that portrays rural life as some heavenly land in which the weirdest individuals roam. A contrast between the relaxed greenery of the nature and the chaotic minds of what are typically bored farmers and elderly. The film relies on a lot of these weird characters to a point where I felt it was a bit too much, making them as weird as possible to gain cheap laughs or just promote the feeling of discomfort through them. This happens a lot in these sort of films, and at first it works but it quickly became one of the film's weaknesses for me. Though the film makes up for this weakness with its sense of curiosity that comes with the superstitions. Our characters must leave raw liver outside every evening otherwise something supposedly happens. Nobody quite buys into it at first. Though the constant teasing works in the favour of the film through build-up and conversations with the locals.
Ultimately it is the gradual worldbuilding that works best in the film, with some performances some may recognise from other British productions both new and old. The directing utilises a very colourful, almost blurry style of cinematography to push forward this magical, otherworldly aesthetic of Ireland, a total contrast from the prior dull, dark and artificial tones found within the city. Much of this is probably a necessity given the lack of composition and colour to be found within the environment throughout the year. Colour grading being the necessity to ensure the image isn't just flat and grey. This makes the film look a lot higher budget throughout too, but there are moments in which you can tell things aren't as real as they would like you to believe they are. Interior shots slowly start to look like a set has been built, with backgrounds not as real. Likely in some studio somewhere for the scenes that might be a bit more chaotic. Probably a bit cheaper than having to rent out the locations every day for the entire duration of the production. It isn't too bad, but I did notice it more in the later parts of the film as it started to reach its conclusion.
And it is in this conclusion that things feel resolved, but still full of mystery. The weirdness continues and does drag on, but you do start to question what's going to happen to the characters. It sort of sets things up with some prior hints earlier on, but it doesn't push this to the point where it's a blatant development to come, even with some slight subverting of expectations to mix things up just a little. As for the aforementioned performances, it's our protagonists that carry the film despite the appearances of more known faces. Two relatively unknown actors but suiting the roles of a millennial type couple rather well. I found they had enough screentime each, and the film didn't need to really explore their characters much having established their main route in life early on. Now, this isn't a film to pull on your heart, it is one to come and go having generated a few laughs and utilised some thriller and horror tropes here and there to serve as some sprinkles on top. So to speak of how the film makes you feel about these characters isn't really necessary, but we do see their desperation to pursue a normal life and start a family, and watch as they struggle due to the cruelty of others. Fortunately void of any racially charged material and political talking points, and instead just a little bit of fantasy and silliness. The result is a film that isn't amazing, but is not bad either. Having strengths in doing something different to the rest.
