Spoilers

The A to Z of films continues & here we are with Retreat. I have 3 Cillian Murphy films that start with R so in honour of his award season (hes just been oscar nominated{god this was that long ago}) it was time to watch one of them for R. & ive not watched this for years so i thought why not.

Im glad i started watching this when i was eating because otherwise it would have been to dark at being dark for me so yea this is not for the fainthearted. Also if i had not seen this before & not read the date, this could get away with being a covid filmed movie for so many reasons but no this was filmed in 2011. 3 people in a house in the middle of know where during an outbreak yea could have easily been based on covid.

See now the novelty has worn off of a couple of people filming in one place at one time for a film. But back in the day & when i first watched this… wow. You sat there & imagined how you would survive the circumstances. But now we all lived it for 2 years in our bubbles. Its not as thrilling or exciting & there was a lack of actual Cillian Murphy in my bubble.

Cillian & Thandiwe are a really good couple. The chemistry works for so many reasons, the love, the regret, the anger, the disillusion they have with each other. It all works. It really is pushing a couple to the extreme & they really do go through a lot of challenges together. & then by adding Jamie Bell as the outsider who you dont know if you can trust him or not is so so cleaver. HEs really good too. & thats it really for the cast, a couple on a boat, maybe one radio voice but thats it.

This film is fucking intense & it went by so quickly. At no point does it feel like its dragging on. When i say i like psychological thriller horror films its films like this. IT makes you think, but it scares you & it makes you go what would i do. How would i get out, how would i deal with this. Its clever & its even better when its acted by really good performers who know what they are doing. No offence to some people in horror films i know its a good place to earn your stripes in films but putting credible people in it makes it even more believable. Okay if its the likes of Cruise its less believable but you know what i mean peoples right.

Why do all these things end up being in a cabin in the middle of know here where stuff breaks & you cant contact anyone at all for a week & theres no wifi or signal. Surely you must know something’s going to go wrong at some point. So when the generator exploded it was always a sign of just nope not happening. Sorry give me my home comforts. At least it wasnt camping that would have been even more hell.

The non conversation & then conversation & depression of a miscarriage is so important. No one ever really talks about it in life let alone film. Her silent struggle, not admitting the loss just continuing life. Yes its extreme circumstances that make them talk but they do. It brings them together. IT is horrible that anyone has to suffer a miscarriage but if one person saw this film & decided they needed help or to talk to someone or their partner about it, then its done its job.

Obviously the radio doesnt work for them to call to check whats going on or the boat doesnt arrive either typical. But seeing everything that Jamies character does is now so believable boarding up the house stashing stuff. Just think about the toilet rolls during the pandemic, thats all im going to say. Also the name they give the flu, so believable. R1N16, yep Covid19 very similar. Also actually the symptoms too. Hang on did this film predict the future 9 years early?

Being forced to shoot your husband when you realise the virus is real & hes going to suffer & be in pain is brutal, but i dont think anyone could have done it better than those two. ITs painful to watch but to see him suffer would hurt more.

Finding out that he was a human test subject who escaped & infected a few people once wasnt believable but now very very much is after the pandemic. His reason for trying to isolate himself made sense, & you then feel really sorry for them that they tried to help him & now they are condemned to death because of it.

I like that there is no happy ending & how as she thinks there might be hope after killing him for betraying them & killing her husband, she then is killed by the army as they tracked them down. It goes to prove that sometimes when people say they are actually here to help they really really arent.

Hearing the wind & looking at that house in the middle of know where adds to the eeriness of the film & the feeling of being isolated. It makes you as the viewer a little estranged to from them all. & then just as your hope build up for the end its all just dashed away & leaves you feeling little much like the characters in the movie.

This is worth a watch. Its so well acted & is more than just an outbreak movie. It hits the right notes & after living through a global pandemic you can believe whats going on here for sure.