Barry Ward plays a mussel harvester in North Wales who has to confront his desires when a deckhand passes through town.
If blockbusters like The Odyssey don’t appeal to you, never fear; there is usually an independent film to offer counterprogramming, and in this instance, we have On the Sea.
Written and directed by Helen Walsh, On the Sea follows Jack (Barry Ward), a mussel harvester who has lived in the same seaside community in North Wales for his whole life, co-running the business that has been in his family for generations.
When the nomadic deckhand Daniel (Lorne MacFadyen) arrives in town looking for work, Jack has to confront his long-buried homosexual desires and decide whether to indulge in them or keep on denying they exist.
By choosing to explore his attraction to Daniel, Jack risks his marriage to his childhood sweetheart Maggie (Liz White) and his relationship with their teenage son Tom (Henry Lawfull) and jeopardises his reputation in town.
On the Sea is a slow-burning character study about a man having an identity crisis. After years of living the same life, Jack starts to question what he actually wants, who he actually wants and what an authentic life might look like.
In addition to the crisis presented by Daniel, Jack faces multiple stressors in other areas of his life – his brother Dyfan (Celyn Jones) has a different idea about how to save their business from financial failure, his son doesn’t want to be involved in the company, and he has some health problems. Jack is going through a lot!
Unfortunately, this drama can be quite frustrating at times because the characters don’t speak much, and when they do, they don’t say what they mean and lay it all out on the table.
While it is realistic, it can be quite unsatisfying because you’ve invested in this story and you don’t get some of the payoff you need.
Also, the attraction between Jack and Daniel lacks a substantial buildup and the performances are a bit too restrained at times.
Ward delivers an impressive performance as Jack, who has a lot of stress bubbling under the surface but manages to keep a lid on everything and pretend he’s fine. But you can tell by looking at him that the stress is weighing him down.
By comparison, MacFadyen’s Daniel is more open and honest about who he is, and together, they build a strong connection between their characters.
On the Sea tells a familiar queer story and the important conversations contain less dialogue than you might like, but you can’t deny the excellent performances from Ward and MacFadyen.
In cinemas from Friday 24th July
By Hannah Wales
© Cover Media