God’s Creatures movie storyline. In a windswept fishing village, a mother (Emily Watson) is torn between protecting her beloved son (Paul Mescal) and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community in this tense, sweepingly emotional epic.
God’s Creatures is a 2022 psychological drama film directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer and written by Shane Crowley, based on a story he wrote with producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly. It stars Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, Aisling Franciosi, Declan Conlon, Toni O’Rourke, Marion O’Dwyer, Brendan McCormack, and Lalor Roddy. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2022 and was released in the United States on November 18, 2022 by A24 Films.
About the Story
In a small remote Irish fishing village, Aileen (Watson) works as a shift manager at the local seafood processing plant alongside Marry (O’Dwyer), whose son Mark recently drowned at sea, and Sarah (Franciosi), a young woman experiencing marital troubles with her husband Francie (McCormack).
At Mark’s funeral reception, Aileen’s estranged son Brian (Mescal) unexpectedly returns after a lengthy and unexplained move to Australia. While initially caught off-guard, Aisleen is delighted to reunite her family together alongside husband Con (Conlon), daughter Erin (O’Rourke) with her newborn son, and elderly father-in-law Paddy (Roddy) who is in a vegetative state.
Brian remains vague about Australia, but expresses his intention to restart the family oyster trapping farm that was abandoned after his departure. Having brought no money or resources himself, Aisleen steals bags of oysters from the plant to seed Brian’s traps, which is witnessed by Sarah. The next day, local seafood supplier Francie is irate over missing oysters from his order. Aisleen blames a lower worker, and finds Sarah heartbroken about her decision to separate from Francie.
At home, Con confronts Brian about stealing fish from others’ traps and selling them himself. Brian storms off and later begins working for another fisherman. Aisleen and Brian visit the local pub, where they notice Sarah arrive alone. Brian attempts to rekindle a former romantic relationship they shared in their teenage years, and Aisleen returns home by herself.
The following day, fungus is discovered on the oysters at the processing plant and a moratorium is declared, devastating the community. Amidst the announcement, an already distressed Sarah faints unexpectedly. Aisleen receives a call from the police stating that a sexual assault claim has been filed against Brian, who claims that he was at home with his mother the night of their bar outing. She lies to the officer confirming his alibi, and does not question Brian when they drive back home. Sarah goes missing from her shifts.
Erin decides to visit Sarah at her home, where she confesses to her the events of the sexual assault following the bar encounter. Her story begins to leak around town, namely with the factory coworkers. Aisleen, Brian, and Sarah are summoned to court, where Aisleen testifies once more that she was home with Brian during the incident.
The court throws out the case due to lack of physical evidence, much to the dismay of Sarah. When Sarah returns back to the processing plant, she is let go due to her repeated absences. On her way out she alludes to Aisleen being the cause of Francie’s missing oysters, and Aisleen is sent home. At work, the coworkers begin to avoid Aisleen, while in the village, Sarah is ostracized by the men.
God’s Creatures (2022)
Directed by: Anna Rose Holmer, Saela Davis
Starring: Emily Watson, Aisling Franciosi, Andrew Bennett, Barry Barnes, Brendan McCormack, Declan Conlon, Isabelle Connolly, John Burke, Marion O’Dwyer, Paul Mescal, Steve Gunn, Toni O’Rourke
Screenplay by: Shane Crowley
Production Design by: Inbal Weinberg
Cinematography by: Chayse Irvin
Film Editing by: Jeanne Applegate, Julia Bloch
Costume Design by: Joan Bergin, Lara Campbell
Makeup Department: Cliona Campbell
Music by: Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans
MPAA Rating: R for language.
Distributed by: A24 Films
Release Date: November 18, 2022
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