The Inuring [James Hughes, UK, 2016]

The powerful start of The Inuring presents itself as a tense drama. We are introduced to two young women who we come to realise, as the drama unfolds, are sisters. The tense opening involves the pair of them embroiled in an argument relating to the past, which has created a rift between them. The script, together with the women’s attire helps distinguish between the elder and younger of the two. It appears the older sister Claudette (played by Sarine Sofair) is deeply upset with her younger sister Aleisha (Emily Haigh) and is desperate to reconnect after several failed attempts.

It is midway through this tense drama that we see the younger sister becoming more powerful as she speaks out about how her past has created a huge amount of anguish, which has stayed with her for the vast majority of her life and she is struggling to deal with the pain that has been inflicted upon her. There is a slight element of mystery at the centre of the film, and it is difficult to grasp whether Aleisha’s anguish stems from their father, old friends or perhaps strangers that mistreated her. This is possibly the one flaw of the script as this element doesn’t seem intentional and the lack of clarity here could be a source of confusion for the viewer.

The cinematography is absolutely magical, to put it into words. The lighting and camera angles set the tone and mood of this film and have an extremely strong impact on the storytelling. The art department also work well to stage the scenes to perfectly match the mood of the story. The use of sound design creates a melancholic tension throughout the film and the musical accompaniment by Amie Doherty adds a beautiful touch to the ending and throughout the credits.

Director James Hughes has brilliantly brought out convincing performances from both actors. Emily Haigh particularly delivers a compelling and flawless performance as the younger sister. Towards the end of The Inuring there is a genuine sense of sadness informed by the performances from both actors, together with the camera techniques adding to the ambience required for the storyline to unfold and become the success that it is.

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'The Inuring' was a film submission in consideration for Short Focus Film Festival 2018.