This movie is actually pretty awful. The cinematography is beautiful, but the story is terrible. I'm not sure if I dislike it because it's not well written or well acted, or if it's just because every character comes off as terrible, cruel, and only half formed. All I can think about is how horrible all of the people are, not even whether the movie itself is well done.
I think the viewer is supposed to feel some kind of sympathy for Vera, but she comes across as stupid and self pitying. Her new husband goes away to war and she cries about missing him, cheats on him while he's gone, spends all his money (supporting her worthless friends I guess?) and then cries about him not loving her when he's returned from the war and is obviously suffering with ptsd from what he witnessed and did (also he knows that she's still in love with/carrying on with her childhood friend, Dylan, and apparently the entire town knows and talks about it. I can understand his emotional distance from his wife and the baby that he believe might not even be his).
Dylan Thomas, someone who's poetry I actually enjoy, comes across as a vile, slimy, repulsive, cheating trashcan of a man. He's actually revolting to me, and I don't know if that's supposed to be intentional or not. Caitlyn is someone who I could almost feel sympathy for, but she feels like only a ghost of a character. She's unpredictable and little all over the place. I never really understood her or why she does what she does. I felt bad for her being cheated on by her sleaze of a husband, but she was also unfaithful....so....
The relationship between Vera and Caitlyn felt incomplete. They went from something of rivals to supposedly bosom friends, but then Vera cheats with Dylan? And their friendship is supposed to be super close or something? Confusing.
The only character that had any sort of redeeming quality was William (and granted, I did only watch this for Cillian Murphy, but even if I hadn't his character is the only one who felt like an actual person, and who invoked some modicum of sympathy). Still, the viewer learns very little about him, although he's the only one who doesn't seem like trash. Of course he kinda sorta attempts to murder some people, but I think it says something that I didn't feel bad at all for the people who were shot at. His character is the only one who doesn't lie or cheat on his spouse, and does seem to actually love Vera. I feel bad for him. I would have been very angry had the trial gone differently (even though the trial enraged me to begin with).
Vera remains stupid throughout. The ending kind of sucks. I really hope this movie is only very loosely based on reality, because I might not be able to read Dylan Thomas's poetry anymore without seeing the slime being that is his character in this movie. And that's sad, because I quite like some of his poems.
2.5 stars, I guess, because it did make me feel emotions. They just weren't good emotions, nor were they the emotions that I think I was supposed to feel.