Maria Marten: Watching a melodrama from another century

If you have any patience for theatrical, slightly stagey British cinema from the thirties, you might find some charm here. If you prefer your pacing to be snappy or your villains to have actual depth, you should probably stay far away. It’s definitely a period piece that feels like it was filmed inside a very dusty, very small room.

Tod Slaughter plays the villain, and honestly, he is the entire reason this thing exists. He doesn't just act; he practically eats the camera lens. Every time he glares at someone, you can almost hear him twisting an imaginary mustache. It’s deliciously over the top, even if it feels like he’s performing for the back row of a theater rather than a film audience. 🎭

The story itself is as old as time. Girl meets guy, guy is a snake, bad things happen in a barn. There isn't much mystery, just a whole lot of dramatic pointing and furrowed brows. It reminded me a little of the earnest, slightly stiff vibe you get in The Virtuous Thief, though this one has a much meaner streak.

There is this one sequence where the tension is supposed to be high, but the lighting is so dim I spent half the time squinting at the screen. You can tell they were working with a shoestring budget, and maybe a single lightbulb. It gives it a weird, cramped energy that I actually didn't mind.

Odd little details I wrote down:

• The barn set looks like it’s made of cardboard and hope.
• Slaughter’s eyebrows deserve their own credit in the opening titles.
• There’s a weird amount of staring into the middle distance.
• The pacing is... well, it takes its sweet time getting to the barn part.

Honestly, the whole thing feels like a time capsule from a version of cinema that didn't care about being 'realistic' or 'nuanced.' It just wanted to make you boo the bad guy and feel sorry for the girl. In that sense, it works fine. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s got a weird, cranky personality that is hard to totally dislike.

If you watch it, don't expect a gritty true-crime investigation. Expect a stage play that got lost on its way to the theater and ended up in front of a camera instead. It’s creaky, yeah. But it’s got guts in its own weird, old-fashioned way. 🏚️