Enys Men (2023)
2023
NR
90 Minutes
A wildlife volunteer on an uninhabited island off the British coast descends into a terrifying madness that challenges her grip on reality and pushes her into a living nightmare.
User Review
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WHAT I LIKED: Mark Jenkin's debut feature 'Bait,' masterfully manipulated cinematic tropes and surrealist imagery to build some fascinating characters in a tale of gentrification and class conflict. His follow-up 'Enys Men,' is executed in a similar style, but it never uses its visuals to build characters or themes.
Instead, it's all about the environment, as we follow a wildlife observer (Mary Woodvine) around a remote Cornish island where, after running out of tea and fuel, she starts hallucinating. The sound design and cinematography do a great job of making everything look tangible, and the strange shots of blood, fire, crashing waves and looking strangers do build a sense of unease.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It does get pretty tiring after a while as you sit and wait for all of that strangeness to develop into something, but sadly there's nothing particularly meaningful behind any of it.
VERDICT: 'Enys Men,' may once again showcase Mark Jenkin's brilliant choice of shots, but this time around they don't work to build any kind of substance at all.0 member like this review.
