It's 1988. War photographer Mark Walsh (Colin Farrell) is in Kurdistan with best friend David. They photograph triage where Dr. Talzani mercy kills his terminal patients. Mark is eager to join the expected Peshmerga offensive but David is desperate to go home to his pregnant wife Diane (Kelly Reilly). They seemingly split up. David returns to Dublin alone. His girlfriend Elena Morales (Paz Vega) is horrified by his state. He claims to got washed away in a river and that David left days before him. Mark is deteriorating and Elena calls in her psychologist grandfather Joaquín Morales (Christopher Lee) for help. She is estranged from him for his work with the Spanish dictatorship.
There is a good story here. The characters and the actors are solid. The central secret gets a bit tiresome. It's obvious something happened but the reveal is disappointing. The actual incident should be much more Mark's fault to justify his overwhelming guilt. In reality, he is only fractionally at fault and a really small fraction at that. I'm also not a fan of a lot of psychobabble talk especially when the movie is only geared towards the secret. Elena and her grandfather have a much better talk. His explanation of his work in Spain is one of the highlights.
There is a good story here. The characters and the actors are solid. The central secret gets a bit tiresome. It's obvious something happened but the reveal is disappointing. The actual incident should be much more Mark's fault to justify his overwhelming guilt. In reality, he is only fractionally at fault and a really small fraction at that. I'm also not a fan of a lot of psychobabble talk especially when the movie is only geared towards the secret. Elena and her grandfather have a much better talk. His explanation of his work in Spain is one of the highlights.