It is In Us All by Antonia Campbell-Hughes tells the story of Londoner Hamish Considine, who is the victim of a shocking car crash because he felt the spirit of his long-deceased mother while driving back to his hometown. The collision rips him apart, slowly draining him emotionally and physically. Hamish is a broken and wounded beast lost in his ancestral homeland of Donegal, in west Ireland. Amidst the troubling reverberations of the crash, he is drawn by a young teen named Evan, who was also involved in the accident. This develops an unlikely relationship between the two, as both deal with grief and guilt.
Before watching the film, my first thought was regarding the meaning of the title. What exactly IS “in us all”? Sin? Vitality? Iniquity? That question drove my interest as the film began. Unfortunately, there is no specific answer, as it carelessly meanders through metaphors of “Adam and Eve” and of the duality of life and danger. There are moments of noiseless tension, which shine a light on Hamish’s deteriorating demeanor, yet they feel aimless and devoid of emotion. For as calm as it is, the best sequence is one of aggression, involving fixing a broken arm.
Unfortunately, the analogies in this feature leave the viewer confused about their deeper meaning. In addition, Jarvis mumbles most of his lines and delivers a one-note performance, causing the character to have little to no change from beginning to end. Though Antonia Campbell-Hughes has an intriguing concept up in her sleeve, the issues in the final product are plentiful.
4/10
