Sunset Song * * * *

Sunset song is a miserable Scottish novel of great literary importance apparently.  I haven’t read it but I know the story such as it is.  

Mud, sleet, hardship, DV.....love it!

It’s about Chrissie a young lass who is born into a farming family in North East Scotland.  LIfe isn’t easy. Her old man is a pretty horrible bloke who mercilessly beats his son, forces his wife to have sex when she is unwell, rules his sad little house with an iron fist, and even proposes incest to his daughter.    Enjoying it so far?  
All you know for sure, is that things are going to have to get better for Chrissie.  And they do.  But then things go very bad again and then good again - sort of. Death can be merciful to the living. (Hey maybe there is more plot here than I’m giving credit for).

British filmmaker Terence Davies was keen to take on Sunset Song. I wouldn’t have thought it a cinematic book but he has actually made a thing of beauty.   This is quite stunning to look at.  The acting is excellent.  He makes very little compromise on dialect or accent (which can be a wee bit frustrating at times) and he gets the very best out of his actors.

In the main role he has has cast Agyness Deyn who I’ve never heard of but apparently she was was a fashion model.  She looks it. She is consistently the tallest person in the film, but she gives a fine performance (she has done other acting as well as giving the pop star thing a go).

I admired Sunset Song.  It's an unflinching portrait of a young woman who loves the place where she was born despite the hardships.  This is her land. She feels part of the earth itself, but I can’t say I particularly enjoyed it.  Immersed in such a miserable world it’s hard to feel good.  It plods along and I will admit to checking  my watch.  

At times I felt like shouting at the screen, “For goodness sake Lassie, get out of there! Catch the next train to London. With your looks you’ll be a successful model before you know it!”.

But love it or be bored by it, Sunset Song is a beautifully crafted film, there's no denying that.