Gwen

Audience Reviews

View All (31) audience reviews

Claudio C Gwen (2018) A Dark, Cruel and Sad Tale (11,720 –26 May 2025 – by Claudio Carvalho) In the Nineteenth Century, in Wales, the farmer Elen (Maxine Peake) is a hard worker that raises her daughters, the teenage Gwen (Eleanor Worthington-Cox) and the girl Mari (Jodie Innes), alone since her husband went to fight in the Crimean War. One day, her neighbors find all their sheep dead and soon they are found dead too. The black Dr Wren (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) tells Elen that they had cholera. Meanwhile, the owner of the local quarry wants to buy Elen’s land, but she refuses. One day, Gwen finds their crop destroyed and then her mother finds all her sheep dead. Together with Gwen, they burn the flock. When Elen gets sick, Dr. Wren visits her and tells Gwen that she needs three bottles of tonic wine, but the family cannot afford. He gives one bottle to Gwen pay later. Gwen goes to the fair to sell vegetables, but she does not sell anything, and people are totally indifferent to her. When she sees Dr. Wren, he gives two bottles of tonic to her. Her horse startles with a thunder and breaks the leg while returning home, and Elen is forced to kill the animal. Soon Gwen is accused of stealing the two bottles. How will the family survive the pressure imposed by the owner of the quarry? “Gwen” (2018) is indicated as a horror movie, but is indeed a heavy drama with a dark, cruel and sad tale. The plot is extremely well acted and has a beautiful reconstitution of the Nineteenth Century in Wales, with wonderful locations. The story of cruelty makes the viewer sad and depressed like when he reads or watches the story of Jean Valjean in Victor Hugo's 1862 classic novel “Les Misérables”. The hopeless conclusion makes the viewer feel sorrowful. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): Not Available My Blog: https://maniacosporfilme.wordpress.com/ Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/27/25 Full Review Diana S Here's another one of those movies where the characters live in the 19th century, in the Welsh countryside in this case, yet they relate and express themselves as if they're from a 21st century Netflix series. I guarantee you that if you're a farmer in 19th century Wales and your family is starving, there is no "I can't" in "butcher the lame horse for its meat." It didn't help that especially the Gwen character just *looked* like a modern teenage girl. Also, I doubt there was much Sunday family frolicking in the starved countryside of Wales in the 19th century when they had to wash their clothes outside in a bucket and slaughter their own food. I could be wrong! But I don't think so. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/04/24 Full Review Chris P (DVD, 2/25/24, horror/drama)) Quick shot: A mother and her two daughters struggle to survive, isolated, in the English countryside. "Gwen" is an atmospheric, slow-burn tense movie. It does a great job establishing the isolation and struggle of a mother and her two daughters while their father is away fighting in a war. However, after it was over I found that I had more questions than the film gave me answers. The atmosphere was visually stunning but it burned a little too slow for my taste. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/24 Full Review Hugo S A woman and her two daughters struggle to survive in rural Wales. Cholera is killing the community while the family sees their farm falling apart as the animals start dying in a mysterious way. "Gwen" is a gothic horror movie with an impressive setting and impeccable performances. The movie excels in creating an unsettling ambiguity: is the family's misfortune caused by supernatural forces or is it all driven by the inevitable change of industrial revolution? Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Set in a farming community in Wales, a young girl named Gwen, tries to keep things running when her mother begins showing symptoms of a strange illness. This is a very well made folk horror film where you're never quite sure where it's headed. I liked the performances from the cast and the mystery surrounding the story which kept me engaged throughout. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Is it a wolf in sheeps clothing or a sheep in wolves clothing? An unrelentingly bleak drama couched in the tropes and themes of horror movies, telling the story of a Welsh farming family attempting to resist the exploitation and violence of a local mine owner in the context of the industrial revolution. The striking landscape (can I see Cadair Idris in the background?) is as much of a character as any of the leads themselves. I'm not usually one to shy away from bleakness in films but must confess the unrelentingness of it in this did get to me a little. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Gwen

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now