Movie review: ’My Sailor, My Love’

'My Sailor, My Love' is a complex film about romance and family drama.

My Sailor, My Love (93 mins) (M). In cinemas now.

Directed by Klaus Haro

From a cast and production team across Ireland, Finland, Norway and Belgium comes this essentially Irish film, in English, about retired sea captain Howard (James Cosmo), a lumbering giant, very grumpy, living alone on a remote coastal property.

He’s lost interest in himself and in housework. When his humourless, rather sour but caring daughter Grace (Catherine Walker), a nurse who works in a city some hours away, employs local woman Annie (Brid Brennan) to be his housekeeper, Howard becomes hostile to both Grace and Annie, despite Annie’s warm tolerance.

Once Howard revisits his initial nastiness towards Annie and the two of them form a relationship, which Howard at first keeps secret from Grace, Grace’s resentment of Howard making any decisions for himself becomes even more entrenched. Things go further downhill for Grace when Howard completely rejects her in favour of Annie and Annie’s joyous family.

The title probably suggests the film is a stock romance, but it’s actually a romance rolled into a complex family drama.

Howard, Grace and Annie bring to the screen universal themes of survival in the face of brutality, struggling to be understood, learning how to trust and setting the past where it belongs. When generous-spirited Annie tries to persuade Howard to treat Grace properly, the audience, rather than Howard, sees the need for a bit of paternal self-reflection, but Howard seems incapable of it.

It’s not all an uphill battle. Howard’s mothballed car, unwrapped and taken for a few spins, becomes the setting for some fun scenes with Annie’s lively young grandchildren. Almost every scene with Annie in it has a light-hearted, hopeful feeling to it.

Filmed on Achill Island, which will be a recognisable location for viewers who saw The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), the landscape is spare, sometimes bleak. The script, by Jimmy Karlsson and Kirsi Vikman, is spare too. Actions speak louder than words.

There’s plenty of scope for discussion about what makes Howard, Annie and Grace tick. Does Howard really love Annie? Is Grace’s sourness justified? What motivates her to be caring towards Howard, despite being rejected by him? Does Annie make the right choices, both as Grace’s employee and Howard’s lover?

The ocean, central to the lives of Howard and Grace, is beautifully captured in many lights. Interior sets and shots are handled meticulously. Klaus Haro’s direction of the art and camera teams, and of the cast, particularly the children, is outstanding. It’s no surprise that the film was judged best Irish film by the Dublin Film Critic’s Circle at the Dublin International Film Festival earlier this year.

As Howard’s health deteriorates, our sympathy shifts from Howard to Grace to Annie and back to Grace. Finally, Annie and Grace realise they have to resolve their issues with each other and they do this in a satisfying way, ending the film on an uplifting note.

Highly recommended.

The first person to bring an image or hardcopy of this review to Starlight Cinema Taupō qualifies for a free ticket to My Sailor, My Love.

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