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"A beautifully made, precisely acted masterclass in rural gothic."—Donald Clarke, Irish Times

"A sharp-edged acting showcase and a devastating exploration of how justice and love do, and don’t, exist alongside one another."—Alissa Wilkinson, Vox

In a small, windswept Irish fishing village, we follow a family whose bonds are as tumultuous as the sea upon which their survival depends. From those relentless elements emerges a gripping story, epic in its moral dimensions. The tale begins as Brian O’Hara (Paul Mescal) returns home to his family's hardscrabble oyster farm after seven estranged years abroad. But a mother's answered prayer becomes her cross to bear. When Brian is accused of a terrible crime, his mother, Aileen (Emily Watson), instinctively lies to protect him. Self sacrifice and defense of one's own define her maternal identity. As the consequences ripple through the village and tensions long left unspoken bubble to the surface, the film reveals a mother's stoic devotion and its tragic undoing. Caught between love, shame, and the urge to protect what little she has in the world, Aileen must reckon with the silence and denial that have long held sway in the village. Directing partners Saela Davis & Anna Rose Holmer (The Fits) weave a poetic tapestry of intersecting relationships: mother and son, past and present, humanity and nature. They tell a story of reckoning that feels of a piece with the craggy mercilessness and dark wit of the Irish coast bringing a unique vision that is tender and unflinching, at once authentic to the place and alive with rich, luminous color.