Lapwing – Raw & Hard Hitting
Director: Philip Stevens
Writer: Laura Turner (Screenplay)
Starring: Emmett J Scanlan, Sebastian De Souza, Hannah Douglas, Javed Khan, Sarah Whitehouse, Lewis Gemmill
Plot: England 1555. An isolated group of salt farmers arrange illegal passage to Europe for an Indian Gypsy family in hiding. But a love affair between Patience, a mute English girl, and Rumi, the son of the Egyptians, threatens to destroy both communities.
Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Lapwing starts as we meet the isolated group of salt farmers, run by David (Scanlan) who rules with an iron fist, where he has Lizzie (Whitehouse) as his woman and her young mute sister Patience (Douglas) being the object of his desires.
The group look to help illegal families passage to Europe, with the latest Egyptian family looking for a path. When Patience falls for the youngest member of the Egyptian family Rumi (De Souza), she brings out a new fury in David
Thoughts on Lapwing
Characters & Performances – Patience is the mute young woman who is often seen as the outsider of the group with her sister in, she is often finding herself feeling isolated until a stranger arrives in town. She sees someone new and around her age here, which will see her go against the leader of the group, who will put her through a brutal version of his own lessons, where she will learn to become stronger in this dark world. Hannah Douglas is brilliant in this leading role, her character goes through so much, where Hannah will make us feel the raw emotion she is going through. David is the leader of the group, he won’t let anyone go against him and runs a shady illegal operation to help people travel to Europe, showing this man will do anything to feel important in this world. Emmett J Scanlan gives us one of the worst humans we will see in film this year, his performance will make us hate him in everything scene. Lizzie is the sister that has been through the abuse that he has put her through. Rumi is the young man that Patience falls in love with, even if he is from a different world, outside anything she would ever be allowed to get involved in.
Story – The story here follows a young woman in 1555 living in a strict community that helps people illegal cross the sea to Europe who falls for one of the immigrants, putting her place in her own community in the air. This is a truly hard hitting movie that will show the bleak world women would have found themselves living in the 15 hundreds, the male leader will make it clear he is the only person who can decide what is happening to the people with the community. The idea of a forbidden love driving the bigger wedge between the community, shows the hardship being put through, while how David forces people to do what he wants, will make for an uncomfortable viewing.
Themes – Lapwing will use the open environment to show the world that the community will be around trying to survive, lurking near the ocean, making it possible to do the illegal operation. The drama of the history people would have been through, comes clear with the costume design and materials being used in the community.
Final Thoughts –Lapwing is a raw & brutal movie that isn’t a comfortable watch, but performed stunningly.
