Scottish filmmaker Louis Paxton’s quirky island tale The Incomer could have been a very different film. The story of a mainland council worker sent to evict a semi-feral brother and sister from their remote island home could quite easily be the setup for a Wicker Man-esque folk-horror. Instead, Paxton turns it into a sweet, strange and frequently hilarious story about loneliness, isolation and desire, steeped in offbeat folkish whimsy.
The siblings are Isla (Gayle Rankin) and Sandy (Grant O’Rourke), who have been the only inhabitants of their remote island since their parents passed away 30 years ago. They have taught themselves how to survive, living off of the island’s abundance of seagulls and preparing to bash in the heads of anyone who dares set foot on the island. Enter Daniel (Domhnall Gleeson), a nerdy council worker sent in to evict the siblings but quickly finds himself tied up and at serious threat of receiving a head-bashing.
However, the siblings begin to share their folklore with Daniel and in return, he regales them with tales of the mainland and a bond starts to form. The siblings have been isolated for so long and have convinced themselves that’s how it should be, but Daniel’s arrival stirs up feelings in both of them. Isla in particular begins to wonder when it’s her turn to want something and what that might look like, after a lifetime with only her brother for company. For Daniel, finding people who look to him as interesting and special is a stark contrast to being ignored or mocked by his coworkers.
On his largest project to date, Paxton ably blends these resonant themes of loneliness, isolation, desire and community into one of the funniest films of the year. The various traditions and bizarre seagull rituals the siblings have are delightfully absurd, and the culture clash aspect is mined for full comedic effect. Crucial to making this work are the three central performances, with each actor finding the right note for their character. Especially Rankin, who gives a beautifully layered performance, allowing real yearning to peek out from behind her flinty exterior. O’Rourke gets the bulk of the film’s biggest laughs, imbuing Sandy with an oafish demeanour and a sweet curiosity. It is actually Gleeson, the film’s biggest star, who has the least to work with but is an able straightman and manages a pitch-perfect Scottish accent to boot.
For all its oddball humour, The Incomer ultimately works because Paxton treats his characters with genuine tenderness, never losing sight of their humanity amidst all of their eccentricities. He finds something genuinely moving in the connection between two people who have never been part of the world, and another who has spent his life feeling invisible in it. The film’s concerns are simple and relatable – the need to be seen, to want and to be wanted, to belong to somewhere – and Paxton turns them into a funny and warmly human story that is considerably more affecting than its eccentric premise suggests.
EIFF 2026 — count: 6
