In My Father's Den

SYNOPSIS

The desolate landscape of New Zealand's Central Otago region reflects the emotional heft of this powerful adult drama based on Maurice Gee's 1972 novel. Disillusioned war photographer Paul (Matthew Macfadyen) returns home for his father's funeral, then finds himself drawn into a family mystery as he becomes attached to sullen teen Celia (Emily Barclay), the daughter of a former lover. Making the most of an evocative soundtrack (dominated by the proto-punk tones of Patti Smith), writer/director Brad McGann skilfully updates Gee's novel of bereavement and despair without losing sight of its stark emotional pull. As Paul confronts the demons of his past, his relationship with his father and the eerie emptiness of the New Zealand landscape, the film's emotionally crippled individuals find themselves trapped in a tangled web of secrets and lies. It's enthralling, grown-up cinema with a melancholy undertow that's guaranteed to move.