[yasr_overall_rating]
A married couple move back to his childhood village to start a family but a surprise visit from the husband’s brother ignites sibling rivalry and exposes the lies embedded in the couple’s relationship.
“Wreckers” is a gloomy British family drama that follows a young couple, Dawn (Claire Foy) and David (Benedict Cumberbatch), who move to David’s rural hometown to start a family. However, life gets complicated when Dawn faces difficulty getting pregnant and David’s brother Nick (Shaun Evans), a troubled soldier suffering from severe PTSD, turns up on their doorstep.
Although it has all the elements for a compelling film – good performances, a “Broadchurch”-like small town setting where everyone has a secret, a “love” triangle – “Wreckers” often falls flat due to its slow pace and repetitive scenes. It feels like the movie is made up of a cycle that alternates between sex scenes, arguments and intimate hushed conversations. At the end of it, I could hardly distinguish between some scenes or tell why they were there, since there were already others just like it.
On the other hand, the movie is wise in showing the story through Dawn’s eyes, who, through Nick, learns much more than she could have imagined about her own husband and his complicated family history. As the story progresses and many overheard conversations in dark corners take place (probably too many), Dawn begins to question whether she really knows the man she married. Claire Foy is great in a role that uses her angelical façade to make us believe in her utter innocence, only to surprise us with a woman who is stronger and less naïve than we had predicted.
Cumberbatch, probably the main reason why people will see this film, is also good in a role that somewhat differs from his most famous ones. His polite and polished demeanor is still there, but here he has a more common man look and behavior. Surprisingly, he does not provide the movie’s best moments but rather leaves that to Foy and specially Evans, whose unstable characters is the most soul-baring in a movie that is filled with contained emotions.
With a dark, intimate cinematography that gets close to the actors and pays attention to little things, such as a butterfly on the window, the movie’s somber and poetic atmosphere is probably its best element. Second to that, the impactful ending, even though Evan’s character leaves the story too quietly. In short, “Wreckers” will please the more patient, contemplative audience members, but might be a letdown to everyone else.
Available to watch on GOOGLE PLAY and DVD
