Following the collapse of the Centre For The Moving Image last October, and with it the Filmhouse and Belmont cinemas, it is fair to say that the Edinburgh International Film Festival was heading into uncharted waters. Thankfully it was able to ride a huge wave of cultural, public, and financial support to return for its 76th consecutive edition, and in doing so, re-announce itself with (an-anything-but) Silent Roar!
Writer-director Johnny Barrington’s debut feature follows the character of Dondo (Louis McCartney). A young man and passionate surfer living on an island in the Outer Hebrides, trying to come to terms with the loss of his father.
Initially it might seem odd for Dondo to spend so much time in the water, given that his father was lost at sea. Yet it is where he is most at peace, perhaps just to keep some form of connection to his dad. Either unable, or unwilling, to deal with the truth, Dondo begins to drift further and further into fantasy. Continually lured out to sea by a trio of surfers calling out like a siren’s song. Even teasing him with one of his father’s wellington boots.
That hope is buoyed by the arrival of a priest with a previous connection to the island. Sensing Dondo is in need of something to fill the void left by his father, he proceeds to similarly lure him into the ways of the church, under the guise of faith.
McCartney plays Dondo with a sense of innocence and daydreaming optimism, not too dissimilar to Barry Keoghan’s turn in The Banshees Of Inisherin. As one character calls it, he has “a look of nonsense behind his eyes”.
On the flip side, that blind faith is met with cynicism by Sorcha (Sas). She is the brightest and most popular girl in school and Dondo and her make for an unlikely pairing as friends. Yet they are both drowning under the weight of their parents expectations. Dondo’s mother wants him to accept his father is gone and start to move on. While Sas finds herself at a crossroads, rallying against the path that has been placed in front of her.
As good as McCartney is, the real standout turn here is by Ella Lily Hyland as Sas. She has a beguiling screen presence that bursts off the screen. In an early scene in an exam hall, she is reprimanded by her male teacher for the noise her bangles make on the wooden desk. “Are you asking me to remove an item of clothing sir?” she asks in front of the whole class, well aware of the embarrassment this will cause. She even agrees to a parlay where she will get rid of them if he shaves off his irritatingly scratchy beard. Cut to a clean shaven teacher and undeniable proof of who is in charge on the island.
Watching her on screen, one is reminded of Carol Morley’s The Falling where Florence Pugh debuted in a similar role and the rest is history. It is certainly not outwith the realms of imagination to predict similar success for Hyland.
What on the surface, feels like a sweet coming-of-age movie where two teenagers are treading water in their lives, slowly gives way to the undercurrent of grief.
Sas is the shining light that calls Dondo back from the darkness. Religion plays an important role in these island communities and the film explores the potential dangers of indoctrination and blind faith. Where the lost soul looks to find answers in the divine, she is willing to question and (literally) burn the establishment to the ground.
Shot on film, this is not a picture postcard view of the Scottish isles. Seen through Dondo’s perspective, the tones are washed out and muted. A cold, harsh unforgiving place. One where the only real sources of colour and life come from his pink surfboard, and Sas’s wardrobe and personality.
Like staying upright on a surfboard, finding that delicate balance in tone is a tall order. However Barrington deftly achieves the twists and turns between comedy and tragedy, as the film swells towards its emotional climax.
Silent Roar is a bold, stunning film that perfectly captures the emotional tempest that is grief, and adolescence. Barrington and his two leads will undoubtedly continue to make waves in the future.
Silent Roar had its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
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Director: Johnny Barrington
Stars: Louis McCartney, Ella Lily Hyland, Mark Lockyer
Runtime: 90 minutes
Country: UK
