BAFTA nominated for her last short film Sea View, director Jane Linfoot makes the leap to feature film with chilly drama The Incident, a beautifully shot but sensationally dull exploration of the effect a young working class girl has on the marriage of an affluent young couple.
The film opens on Joe (Tom Hughes) stopping off at a rough pizza shop on his way home from work. Linfoot fills the scene with tension, making it clear something bad is going to happen and eventually it does, as Joe is approached by teenage prostitute Lily (Tasha Connor) and – presumably – sleeps with her before heading home to wife Annabel (Ruta Gedmintas).
Early on we see a bit of fun in Joe and Annabel’s relationship as she strips down to her undies and races around the garden surrounding their beautiful, modern house in the middle of the woods, with Joe giving chase. But his new secret is clearly weighing on him and starts to build some distance between them.
The following day, during a trip into the local town, Annabel has her own encounter with Lily after discovering her in some public toilets with a ‘client’. She becomes obsessed for some reason, maybe out of some motherly concern or just general curiosity. Either way, she follows Lily around until she gets in a van with a random older man and heads off out past Annabel and Joe’s house. In a stunning coincidence, Lily ends up wandering back through Annabel’s garden, stealing some champagne from the garage and eventually wandering around the house, unbeknownst to Annabel who is upstairs having a bath.
After Annabel discovers Lily in the house, it finally seems to kick the plot into gear but it’s all too little, too late. The Incident takes an eternity to get to the pivotal, titular event and the aftermath of which is a completely dissatisfying resolution of talking it out and patronising the working class. It’s one thing to slowly build the drama if it’s going to lead somewhere but Linfoot’s film is ultimately understated to the point of being a dreary slog that’s beautiful to look at – thanks to some cool, clean cinematography from Pau Castejon – but has absolutely nothing beneath that slick veneer.
It doesn’t help that the characters are almost impossible to feel anything for considering their motivations never seem clear at all and every decision they make frustrates, like Annabel leaving the door open while she’s alone in the bath in a house in the middle of the woods! Part of that is down to their need to service a plot that hinges entirely on massive coincidences that are just way too far-fetched for a story that’s taking itself so deadly serious. Even the big revelation in the third act relies on a massive assumption on Annabel’s part based on very little but the film is so mired in its gloomy, low-key mood that there isn’t even a satisfying conflict between the couple.
It’s hard to pin point what Linfoot is really trying to achieve here as The Incident slowly builds to nothing at all and the performances she draws from her leads are completely impenetrable. Any interest, ambiguity or complexity is completely lost as the coincidence-laden plot lumbers on to a sleepy conclusion, making the film an unfortunate slog to sit through. Linfoot clearly has some good visual instincts and has surrounded herself with a talented crew so the film is at least visually and technically well put together but there isn’t much else to recommend it.
EIFF 2015 — count: 22
Festivals — count: 132
