ROSE OF NEVADA
Starring: George MacKay and Callum Turner
Director: Mark Jenkin
ADRIANO
Rose of Nevada is a prime example of execution saving what’s missing. Its premise is too vague for its own good, and its sci-fi plot comes off as just noise in moments. More than that, its character work isn’t fleshed out to the point of emotional impact, and yet, I was moved. Its slow-moving atmospheric tension and excellent performances pave the way for a film that, while not as impactful as it desires, is ultimately captivating in its unique approach to harbouring past emotions. By the nature of the film, some stuff didn’t work, most of it did.
KATIE
The latest film from Cornish filmmaker Mark Jenkin is a distinctive, uncanny, and sometimes unsettling drama with beautifully realised imagery and sound. Shot on 16mm, Jenkin channels the analogue aesthetic and dreamlike atmosphere of his last feature, Enys Men, but this time with a clearer narrative and emotional engagement with its lead characters (two excellent performances from Callum Turner and George MacKay). Whilst taking place in two time periods, it highlights today’s reality of these coastal communities impacted by deprivation, using gorgeously realised imagery and textures to convey the sense of disrepair and deterioration.
BODE
As a director, writer, editor, cinematographer, and composer, Cornish filmmaker Mark Jenkin wears a lot of hats. This only means that his throwback style - rustic as it is - is uniquely his. This continues to be the case with Rose of Nevada. As a slow-burn genre piece, it takes a bit for its ghostly atmosphere and time-bending narrative to fully cohere. But once it eventually does, it becomes rewarding in the most haunting ways, with its gorgeous 16mm images and heartbreaking performances bringing some heft to its portrayal of a small town struggling to leave the past behind. It’s eerily solid.
PAIGE
Rose of Nevada is an obscure and peculiar film that I admired more than I actually liked. Shot stunningly on grainy 16mm with a sound design that intensifies the atmosphere, this film very much feels like an '80s indie in the way it's framed and edited. While it starts off painfully slow, once we get aboard the Rose of Nevada boat, this oddly crafted ghostly time-travel story begins to take off and the eeriness sets in. That said, while it has an intriguing premise, it doesn't do much with its concept. Instead, the atmosphere and overall vibe take priority over the script and the actual execution.
