Nowhere In Particular

A young man, a lonely road. Weather conditions best described as hostile. A mysterious young woman asking for a ride, going nowhere in particular. When she gets into the car we know there's going to be trouble but the film keeps us guessing as to what.

The debut directorial work by Mason Cardiff, son of the great Jack Cardiff, this film is heavy on atmosphere even though it's slender in plot. In a short film, less is often more, and Cardiff has wisely chosen to play to his strengths. Though it ultimately feels a little too thin, the story is carried by capable actors. The old 'based on true events' line excuses it from seeming contrived and - some shaky sound work aside - it's impressively well produced, with muted but effective cinematography adding to the mood.

Rob Soohan is our hero, a young Irish American man who has chosen to spend the summer driving around Ireland in a battered old car, discovering his roots. The remote village where he washes up has inevitable sinister connotations, bringing to mind works as diverse as The Wicker Man and One Hundred Mornings, if only because he is so palpably out of his depth, the local man he meets seeming so wary. There's a glance through shuttered windows. The girl's breasts appear before her face does; is the young man thinking rationally when he lets her tag along? She's deliberately elusive. Supernatural tales spring to mind. Perhaps the old warnings hinted at problems still with us.

Perhaps this is the beginning of romance, perhaps it's something far more worrying. Sequences inserted in the closing credits answer some questions but not all, with plenty of challenges still ahead. This brief, rainy interlude suggests a lifetime of stories.