Bait

Bait

29/3/2019 1h 29m 6.9/10

Overview

Martin Ward is a cove fisherman, without a boat. His brother Steven has repurposed their father’s vessel as a tourist tripper, driving a wedge between the brothers. With their childhood home now a getaway for London money, Martin is displaced to the estate above the picturesque harbour. As his struggle to restore the family to their traditional place creates increasing friction with tourists and locals alike, a tragedy at the heart of the family changes his world.

Director

Mark Jenkin

Top Billed Cast

Edward Rowe

Edward Rowe

Martin Ward

Simon Shepherd

Simon Shepherd

Tim Leigh

Mary Woodvine

Mary Woodvine

Sandra Leigh

Giles King

Giles King

Steven Ward

Chloe Endean

Chloe Endean

Wenna Kowalski

Janet Thirlaway

Janet Thirlaway

Mrs. Peters

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

6/8/2024

6/10

"Martin" (a competent Edward Rowe) is struggling to come to terms with changes in his tiny fishing village that have left him a bit adrift. His brother has decided that more cash can be made if they use their late father's boat for tourist trips and their former family home is now lived in by "Sandra" (Mary Woodvine" and "Tim" (Simon Shepherd) who compound his frustration by being considered interlopers. The photography helps this stand out for about half an hour. It's monochrome and the camera cuts regularly and effectively between characters, beauty shots and even mixes conversations in an innovate style - especially in scenes like the one in the pool room/at the bar. The thing is, though, once we have become exposed to the techniques of auteur Mark Jenkin, the thing takes a series of rather predictably repetitive turns; the characters turn out to be annoyingly undercooked and the paucity of dialogue all contributes to a rather shallow look at small town mentalities. Woodvine and Stacey Guthrie's bar owning "Liz" serve well as fire-break type characters to absorb some of the intensity from the increasingly exasperated "Martin" but this is really a short film that's overstretched. It is an interesting production and at times looks like it might have made for a decent silent film - but I didn't love it.

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