Dark River

Released Jun 29, 2018

1 hr. 29 min.

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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List

82%

66 Reviews

Tomatometer

61%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Following the death of her father, Alice returns home to Yorkshire for the first time in 15 years to claim the tenancy of the family farm she believes is rightfully hers. Once there, she encounters older brother Joe, a man she barely recognizes. Joe is thrown by Alice's sudden arrival, angered by her claim and finds her presence increasingly impossible to deal with. Battling to regain control in a fragile situation, Alice must confront traumatic memories to find a way to restore the farm.

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Critics Consensus

Dark River is just as bleak as its title would suggest, but solidly conceived characters and a standout performance from Ruth Wilson make it worth diving in.

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Jelisije J

This is a movie with a deep emotional realistic story.....so that means a very depressing, slow, well acted film. Two siblings have to reconnect on a family farm in order to move forward in their lives......replay value for entertainment sake doesn't exist in this film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/11/24

Full Review

John B

The story was ok overall, but was really slow moving and takes a long time to develop or for the viewer to understand the complexities of what's going on through the flashbacks.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/16/23

Full Review

ronald h

"Dark River" is an entirely humorless film. If you're in an entirely humorless mood, you might appreciate it. It also features a large cast of sheep who don't appear very happy. In rural England, Alice (Ruth Wilson) is a sheep shearer who receives news that her father has passed and has left her the tenancy of the sheep farm where she grew up. She returns there and encounters her estranged brother Joe (Mark Stanley), who has let the place run down badly. The place needs a ton of work. Thinking that she is now the tenancy holder, she tries to get the place in shape, hoping that she and Joe can work it together. But Joe is obstinate about doing things his own way, and he doesn't want her help. After all, she has been gone for years and didn't even attend her father's funeral. Alice and Joe's relationship is tempestuous, sometimes to the point of violence. Why the family conflict? We learn in short flashbacks that Alice was sexually abused by her father (Sean Bean). Alice keeps having visions of her traumatic past, which raises the question: Why does she return to this place? Catharsis? The question is not answered. Another question is, did Joe know about the abuse? The answer is eventually revealed over an hour into the film. Joe is awarded tenancy, we guess because he stayed on the farm all of those years and the landowner probably favored him over Alice. This, of course, ramps up the resentment. But the real reason Joe gets tenancy is that he has agreed to sell the land to developers. This is pretty much a plotless movie. Its attributes include gorgeous shots of the British countryside and committed performances from Wilson and Stanley. But the angst is overwhelming. There are many scenes that are pregnant with silence and discomfort. Seventy minutes in, I was wondering where it was all going to go. Surely, I thought, there must be a plot twist coming, or a narrative turn of some kind. It comes in the final act. I found it pretty hard to swallow. But this movie is not about logic or normalcy. It's pure, hand-wringing melodrama, the kind that film festival judges love.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's a rural, personal and slowly intense little indie with some exceptional acting from Ruth Wilson.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Serge L

The dramatic story follows a line of lack of understanding by lack of communication and lack of intelligence. All members of the family seems to lack intelligence until someone died.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/11/21

Full Review

william s

Wilson shines in this bleak(and that is being kind)drama.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Clio Barnard

Director

Ruth Wilson

Alice

Mark Stanley

Joe Bell

Sean Bean

Richard Bell

Esme Creed-Miles

Young Alice

Aiden McCullough

Young Joe

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Dark River: Trailer 1

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Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

The kind of movie that mistakes rumbling storm clouds and restless sheep for plot development.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jun 29, 2018

Full Review

Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Even in the swelling canon of British rural miserabilism, this unrelentingly intense psychodrama burrows beneath the skin.

Jun 28, 2018

Full Review

Gary Goldstein

Los Angeles Times

"Dark River" is a forgettable title for a movie that's anything but.

Jun 28, 2018

Full Review

D.M. Palmer

Vague Visages

Dark River excels in the areas where Barnard has already proven herself adept: she draws stellar performances from her cast across the board, and creates a vibrant naturalism without sacrificing tone or style.

Nov 8, 2023

Full Review

Cate Marquis

AWFJ.org

Clio Barnard gives us a glimpse into the hard life of sheep farmers in Yorkshire through the eyes of a woman who returns home.

Nov 23, 2021

Full Review

Jennifer Merin

AWFJ.org

Barnard's style is raw authenticity, and at times the characters' thick Yorkshire accents can be difficult to understand - but much of Dark River's haunting tale is told visually and the film's cinematography is superb.

Nov 23, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Following the death of her father, Alice returns home to Yorkshire for the first time in 15 years to claim the tenancy of the family farm she believes is rightfully hers. Once there, she encounters older brother Joe, a man she barely recognizes. Joe is thrown by Alice's sudden arrival, angered by her claim and finds her presence increasingly impossible to deal with. Battling to regain control in a fragile situation, Alice must confront traumatic memories to find a way to restore the farm.

Director: Clio Barnard
Executive Producer: Meroë Candy, Lizzie Francke, Rose Garnett, Andy Harries
Screenwriter: Clio Barnard
Distributor: FilmRise
Production Co: Moonspun Films, Left Bank Pictures
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 29, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 16, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.2K
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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