User Reviews

Incredible acting from Emily Watson and pretty much the entire cast. Unfortunately it doesn't give us enough background for these complex characters, and it's a bit disjointed. Basically a seemingly prodigal son returns home after 7 years abroad and silence. His mother, Watson is overjoyed until he's accused of sexually assaulting a childhood friend. It's worth watching for the sound and atmosphere alone. The clacking of oyster shells and a steady drum beat interwoven with bagpipes creates incredibly eerie tension, just incredible, and I'll never eat oysters again. The resolution is a bit fast, but surprising. Not as good as I wanted it to be but a solid film.

I wasn't going to leave a review for this movie because I didn't rate it higher than a 7, but then I saw all of the negative reviews and was so confused. What are people doing watching Irish movies if they aren't used to a slow, dark, depressing tale?

If you can handle honest story telling with real acting that isn't theater or over the top, then and only then should you watch this. I didn't even consider this to be a 'slow burn' really, just a departure from the usual Irish dark comedies I normally watch. It's just a captivating drama that is very real, very possible, and probably meant for people who can relate in some way. I was able to relate in many ways. My own husband had dark secrets when I met him that his mother not only kept from me, she lied for him. It happens every day. I was also a victim of sexual assault on more than one occasion and felt the movie mirrored my experience fairly well, albeit with more interesting characters. I'm no feminist or believer in a patriarchy by any means, but this movie felt very real and I can see how it might make some uncomfortable. Perhaps people have some inner demons they should address if this story bothers them so much.

The way it was told was quite fine in it's pace and mood. For those that are upset by the lack of explanation for Brian's absence in Australia, do you need to have everything spoon fed? It's up for interpretation. Brian was never a great character, he didn't actually do anything to be such a shining star to his mother and it took her entirely too long to realize that because he was her favorite. He likely never went to Australia at all. He could have been in prison for crimes he obviously seems so willing to commit. You're on the same journey as Emily Watson here, we only really see what she sees and her perspective and actions change everything. If only more people were willing to reflect on their misdeeds.

This film is what I suppose the term 'quiet' is intended. It makes no effort to introduce the audience to place, circumstances, or time. We are presented with a young man (played by current favourite, Paul Mescal) who is seemingly returning to his small Irish home community after a substantial time of absence.

It is clear that his return raises varying emotions in family members and others in the community. We get a sense that there is a lot of tension under the surface, and relationships with particular people are strained but never explained.

Alongside Brian's arrival, the film portrays a hardworking, financially vulnerable community, dependant on the fishing/oyster gathering industry (? If apologies if this is incorrect terminology/surmisation?). It is a bleak watch, and I would understand if many abandoned it. Had I been in a different mood I may have done so.

However, there was enough intrigue created, for me to stick with it and see what was going to unfold. I was pleased that , unlike some films of this ilk, it was actually building to an incident which then forces certain characters to make decisions that compromise their values and question their loyalties.

It is subtle, perhaps too much so for me personally, but it is very authentic, and I believe an accurate depiction of how a victim can become an outcast if the perpetrator is within a community's heart. It raises many important questions, and does offer some satisfying realisations and declarations.

The themes are not new, but they continue, unfortunately to be very relevant and problematic today. So it is great that filmmakers are continuing to address these issues and keep people discussing and reflecting upon the treatment of women, how we deal with sexual assault, especially when the perpetrator is liked, family or /& 'one of our own'.

Don't get me wrong , the acting is great and it's an important message ....but the delivery left me somewhat underwhelmed. For a start the movie takes a long time to get going. I was expecting more of a 'he said/she said' after the incident but we don't really find out what happened and what leads to the mothers eventual realisation. The sister is adamant he is guilty and then the mum realises it too...but what changes her mind? But again, an important message ....but just too slow in the beginning to set the scene etc etc. What made him leave Australia? Was an assault committed there? U answered questions.

I was drawn in by A24, Emily Watson, and Ireland - what a combination!

Slow burn is an understatement - we are frogs slowly simmering to death. There is a 10 second AH HA moment and the rest is waiting for the film to get started. It never really goes anywhere.

The ending was so frustrating that I was actually angry. I felt like I was taken for a ride.

I'm not sure why this film was made but it seems a waste of a great location and fabulous actors with a MEH story line. The fact that she lets her son drowned is the only highlight. But then the movie goes back to being a dirge. It may be true to life but it is not great story telling.

I completely agree with cynthiacaton's review, couldn't have said it better.

The only thing going for this movie is the fact that it is beautifully shot, I always enjoy seeing filmmakers using actual film. Otherwise, this movie is a 2 hour attempt on your mental health. It wants you to be depressed and it hates you for being normal. Not happy, just normal. The script fails to humanize a single character in this movie, they're all really just fragments or stereotypes, leaving me to believe that the town itself is the main character. Aha! That's smart, but unfortunately not a good thing. What was the message then? Is this the normal behavior of Irish small town folk? Heck no. Ridiculous drunken men making fun of assault victims? I don't think so. Mothers leaving their sons to drown like it's God's revenge and it had to be this way? In what universe would this actually happen?

Needles to say I hated all the characters, and my frustration was through the roof when at the end I had to watch a secondary, yes secondary, character give an overly dramatic and nonsensical speech and then I had to watch her leave town for five to ten minutes, I'm not making this up, the longest take in Irish film making history is of this girl in a car driving the hell away from that town, that movie,.. and thankfully from my life.

The actors are doing their best with the script, it's definitely not their fault, they're brilliant, really.

If you read this and think I'm just not getting it and this movie is too good/smart/abstract/slow/ (insert whatever you want here) for me, please know that I absolutely loved and highly recommend "The killing of two lovers".

If you have 100 minutes (thats 6,000 seconds) to burn, invest in something more enjoyable and purposeful than this movie. I am 56 and need to get a colonoscopy and in retrospect that would have been a better way to spend my evening. The procedure is uncomfortable and annoying but at least at the end of it I would have resolution regarding my colon health.

The acting was actually quite good but the story wasn't worth their solid effort. In fact, everything about the movie other than the actual plot was good. This was like a Phil Donahue show where he would self righteously say something insightful like "rape is a terrible act of violence" and everyone applauds while he smugly gazes directly into the camera. If you are young you will have to google that reference.

I would have preferred to simply agree with someone uttering the idea in a 60 second conversation, rather than investing my evening in a painful, inevitable March to the end of this film.