Rose of Nevada
Nick (George MacKay, "1917," "The Beast") is struggling trying to raise a family in a Cornish fishing village suffering economic collapse ever since one of its boats was lost with a shorthanded crew of two thirty years ago. During a morning visit to the harbor, the boat's owner, Mike (Edward Rowe, "Enys Men"), is astonished to find the long lost fishing vessel bobbing in the water. After conferring with Tina (Rosalind Eleazar, TV's 'Slow Horses'), who lost the father of her child with his boat and questions where they will find crew, they decide to give it another go, but not before removing the brass plaque identifying it as the "Rose of Nevada."
Laura's Review: B+
Writer/director/cinematographer/editor/composer Mark Jenkin once again finds inspiration in his native maritime Cornwall, returning to the time tripping, seaside haunting of "Enys Men." But while his last featured an isolated researcher, this time the decision of one man affects the fate of an entire community.
Jenkin's films sport the unique look of 16mm film complete with flash frames exposed with a hand-cranked Bolex camera, giving the impression of a professional home movie. As in "Enys Men," we will witness flowers on a cliff, this time laid by Mr. Richards (Adrian Rawlins, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows") to memorialize the loss of his son all those years ago, the crew member who committed suicide after leaving Rose of Nevada shorthanded thirty years before resulting in its loss. In the intervening years, his wife, Mrs. Richards (Jenkin's partner Mary Woodvine, "Enys Men"), has succumbed to dementia and when Nick finds her out on the street barefoot in the rain, he gently guides her home.
But when he returns to his own where his wife Morvah (Emily Daglish-Laine) and toddler daughter await, it is to find a leaking roof and when he attempts to patch it, he falls right through, creating a far more serious problem. Needing money, he, along with homeless drifter Liam (Callum Turner, "Queen & Country," "Eternity"), will sign up to crew on Mike's boat, captained by old salt Murgey (Francis Magee) whose sudden appearance is as mysterious as the boat's he'll pilot.
One of the more fascinating aspects of "Rose of Nevada" is Jenkin's rigorous portrayal of what life at sea is like for a fisherman. Winches, which can freeze, are used to haul up the gigantic nets full of wriggling creatures which must first be sorted, then gutted ('head to asshole' as instructed by Murgey) and packed in plastic crates layered with ice stored belowdecks. The ritual is repeated until, again as Murgey specifies, the crates reach the ceiling. Those who have seen the provocative documentary "Leviathan" may have flashbacks during these sequences.
But while Rose of Nevada has great business success, everything surrounding it is eerie. When Nick leaves his home, he'll find Mrs. Richards there with a prophetic warning. Assigned to a bunk on board, he'll find 'get off the boat now' scratched into its wooden frame. But what is most frightening is what they find upon their return through dense fog - their thriving village of thirty years ago. Not only that, but Nick watches in astonishment as a young Tina greets Liam as the lost father of Lindsey, something he immediately takes advantage of (he'd been gifted with 'dad's cap' by her grown daughter Lindsey (Yana Penrose) before departure). Upon returning to his home, Nick discovers he's been claimed by the now younger Richards couple as their son. It is no wonder we've gotten a glimpse of the name of this place, Llewellyn Harbor, a fictional setting from a fantasy realm.
Jenkin builds on his time loop, revealing the origin of Nick's roof leak as well as his bunkbed warning. The man who sees his wife and child in his mind's eye continues to go out on the Rose of Nevada, hoping to return to them, but an unspoken communication will settle his fate. "Rose of Nevada" is a haunting tale, something delivered out of time by Jenkin's unique style.
Robin's Review: C+
A fishing boat reappears in a seaside village in Cornwall after vanishing 30 years before. The owner gets the boat back in working condition and hires a new crew from the locals for the re-launch of the "Rose of Nevada."
Writer-director Mark Jenkin delivers an odd ghost story that sort of also deals with time – not time travel, just time. The titular boat shows up, suddenly, decades after its disappearance, pretty much the worse for wear. The owner refurbishes the boat, removes and throws away the name – bad luck – and looks for a crew.
This is opportune for Nick (George McKay), a husband and dad struggling to make ends meet in the bad economy and Liam (Callum Turner), an unemployed dock worker badly in need of a job. Though they know little or nothing about fishing, both are about to get a crash course – on the job. They work very hard and fill the hold and head back home.
When they return to port, Nick and Liam eagerly get ready to see family and friends. Once they get back, though, things are amiss. Yes, they are back in their fishing town, but it is very prosperous – and 30 year earlier. They locals call Nick, "Luke," and Liam, "Alan," and their own pasts are gone. Luke and Alan were on the crew of the disappeared Rose of Nevada.
I describe the story straightforwardly but there is a lot to unpack here as we also deal with the psychological impact of what the men must now face – an existence and time not their own. How the two cope with their dilemma and their new lives makes for a couple of interesting character studies. Their responses to the new life are quite different.
The screenwriting by Jenkin is oft-times ambiguous but the core story is intriguing enough. The writer-director is also credited as editor, cinematographer and composer. It is an ambitious endeavor and the filmmaker tries to do too much and mixes genres a little too liberally.
Still, it is an interesting ghost story with good actors and a certain amount of spookiness about it.
1-2 Special releases "Rose of Nevada" in select theaters on 6/19/26, expanding in subsequent weeks.
