Dark River

The kind of movie that mistakes rumbling storm clouds and restless sheep for plot development.

Even in the swelling canon of British rural miserabilism, this unrelentingly intense psychodrama burrows beneath the skin.

"Dark River" is a forgettable title for a movie that's anything but.

It's a beautifully crafted, moodily evocative film that's missing just one spark of true inspiration.

While Clio Barnard so masterfully limns her protagonist's tortured soul, the brother-sister drama at the center of the film remains frustratingly hazy.

Dark fare indeed, and you won't shake it off easily.

Dark River excels in the areas where Barnard has already proven herself adept: she draws stellar performances from her cast across the board, and creates a vibrant naturalism without sacrificing tone or style.

Clio Barnard gives us a glimpse into the hard life of sheep farmers in Yorkshire through the eyes of a woman who returns home.

Barnard's style is raw authenticity, and at times the characters' thick Yorkshire accents can be difficult to understand - but much of Dark River's haunting tale is told visually and the film's cinematography is superb.

Clio Barnard has succeeded in using this unique natural setting to describe our most basic instincts.