Here’s what I hate most about festival season: there are so many trailers for films that I will probably have to wait until DVD or VOD to actually see. This is certainly true of The Sea, the latest film starring Ciarán Hinds that will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Ciarán Hinds stars as art historian Max Morden mourning the recent death of his wife. He takes up residence at the sea-side cottage where he spent his summers, alongside housekeeper Miss Vavasour (Charlotte Rampling). Although looking for peace in the aftermath of his wife’s death, it’s quite obvious from the trailer that Max is not going to get it. He begins to recall his childhood, and from the looks of it, things take a dark turn. Hinds has a long track record of playing slightly disturbed men, and this one looks to be no different.
The trailer for The Sea does not give us a lot in terms of plot, still the atmosphere is thick. There’s a sensation of dark secrets underlying Max’s childhood days at the seaside that obviously have something to do with Natasha McElhone and Rufus Sewell as Carlo and Connie Grace. What those dark secrets are, and how the whole thing will play out in Max’s contemporary existence, will be seen when the actual film premieres; unless, of course, you’ve read the book and already know.
The Sea is based on the critically-acclaimed book of the same title by John Banville, who also has a hand in the screenplay. Newcomer Stephen Brown directs – his only credit, according to Imdb, is a short entitled The Curious.
The Sea will premiere at TIFF, which begins September 5th.
You can watch the trailer below and check out some stills from the film. Does this seem a like a movie you’d like to see at your local cinema?
