For Those in Peril (2013) starring George MacKay, Kate Dickie, Michael Smiley, Nichola Burley, Brian McCardie directed by Paul Wright Movie Review

For Those in Peril (2013)   3/53/53/53/53/5


George MacKay in For Those in Peril (2013)

Dealing With Death

Aaron (George MacKay) had gone out on the boat like everyone else that day to fish, it was just a regular day. Unfortunately Aaron was the only one to return, surviving the accident which killed the rest of the crew including his brother. Having always been a bit of a misfit Aaron finds himself even more alienated by the community who question not only how he survived but add to his already feeling of guilt as he remembers nothing so can't answer any questions. And when Aaron starts spending time with his late brother's fiancée, Jane (Nichola Burley), the general comments and speculation start to get to Aaron. It is then he starts to believe in old folklore and believes his brother is still alive and he must go out and rescue him.

I have three things to say about "For Those in Peril" and that starts with the storyline which sees an already psychologically damaged young man affected by the attitude of the community around him who resent him being alive whilst he tries to deal with his brother's death. In a loose way it reminded me of one of those crime dramas where the police question a juvenile for so long and so hard that he no longer knows what is what. That is sort of what we see with Aaron who through the attitude of the villagers has his already vulnerable mind made all the more confused. And that is interesting and part of what kept me watching.

The second thing and the other reason why I kept watching "For Those in Peril" are two performances, two natural performances from George MacKay and Nichola Burley who manage to make us understand their characters. In fact MacKay carries this movie on his shoulders and does a great job of playing a young man for all sense and purpose is lost.

But here is the third thing and it is not the low budget, independent camera work I am going to mention. Nope it is motivation because we don't get enough back stories and character development to know what is what. So okay you can read into it and say the villagers are angry at the loss of their loved ones and so blame Aaron but then you have to ask why aren't they happy that one person returned alive. You also have to question why Jane wants to hang around with Aaron, is it trying to stay connected with the man she lost or a sense of loyalty, we have to guess as it is never explained. There are more of these lapses in motivation and depth which causes "For Those in Peril" to come up short.

What this all boils down to is that "For Those in Peril" ends up an interesting movie, with an interesting storyline but one which for me is let down by the lack of motivation when it comes to the characters.


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