New York Magazine (Vulture) by Emily Yoshida
A brutal, meandering depiction of a quarter-life crisis, Gillan’s script is staunchly resistant of silver linings or “it gets better” messaging.
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
United Kingdom · 2018
1h 31m
Director Karen Gillan
Starring Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Matthew Beard, Paul Higgins
Genre Drama, Comedy
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In a bleak Inverness midwinter, Luisaidh is completely distraught after the suicide of her best friend. She medicates her misery with joyless sex, junk food and an irrational belief in "positive drinking". Surrounded by bittersweet memories, she attempts to find a silver lining during this extremely stressful time of her life.
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Emily Yoshida
A brutal, meandering depiction of a quarter-life crisis, Gillan’s script is staunchly resistant of silver linings or “it gets better” messaging.
The New York Times by Glenn Kenny
Gillan plays her messy, mournful role with unfussy integrity. The movie does not stray beyond the borders of the modest character study, but within those parameters, it’s accomplished and impressively straightforward.
Set in Gillan’s own hometown of Inverness, the film uses the tragic history of the Scottish Highlands (which has the highest suicide rate in the U.K.) to spin out an intimate coming of age tale, bolstered by Gillan’s dark sense of humor and a firm understanding of how to play with narrative conventions.
The movie, a wayward portrait with surrealist touches, is trying for something genuine. Yet despite some good scenes, some tart lines...and an atmosphere of saintly desperation that suggests “Trainspotting” redone as a darkened YA fable, the movie is wispy and meandering; it doesn’t gather power as it goes along.
Los Angeles Times by Robert Abele
Gillan, returning to her Highlands roots to spotlight a depressingly high suicide rate there among young people, has not only given herself an expectedly meaty role that walks a fine line between sad and bitterly funny, but she’s proven to be a director with a keen eye for expressive visuals.
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