Emotional drama about mother and daughter
The devastating impact of war on isolated communities is based on real events and reflects on the scars traumas can leave on both an individual and community. On a fateful night in a small village in the Outer Hebrides a young beautiful woman, a bookworm dreaming of life out of the gender expectations of both time and her island, especially dreaming of escape to the United States of America with her boyfriend Murdo, living in a small village in the years just before the WW1, is isolated as her lie takes a dramatic turn as tragedy strike twice after she was raped at a village party and boyfriend is sent to war. The epic war-time drama highlights the joy of love, dancing, war, and tragedy, starring Hermione Corfield as Kirsty Macleod, Will Fletcher as Murdo MacAulay, Mark Gatiss as doctor Maclean and Frances Grey as Aileen MacuAuley ( Kristy’s mum), directed by Richie Adams.
Murdo and the rest of the young men on the island are sent to fight in the First World War, the island comes together for a befitting send-off for the young lads. As a parting celebration, the town holds a Road Dance, where Kirsty’s life is changed forever. On the dark, rocky shore Kirsty is attacked and has to face the consequences with a drastic effect on the future she has always dreamed of.
Adam’s film highlights the realities of Hebridean life in the early 1900s and Kirsty’s trauma crash down around them, whose resilience and hardship, focus on the isolated nature of the location contrasted by the intimate and connected nature of the tight-knit rural community.
As the rocky shores caressed by the wind howls in the dark, the warmth inside Kirsty’s home as she gossips with her sister, and the closeness of the island’s women give the film an emotional, real-life, and lived-in feeling.
The adaptation encapsulates the book’s sense of place, of grief and struggle, with compelling pace and sensitively acted, as the relationships are heartfelt and believable and the sense of community is really strong felt.
Petra Korner captures the wildness of the sea and raw beauty of the landscape, and the thematic lives of the island’s population.
The Road Dance is an emotive film that reflects the beautiful scenery of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, worth watching with strong bonding exploring the mother and daughter relationship, the complexities it holds, and the sheer power of hope used to overcome huge tragedy, especially in the wake of Mother’s Day, started in America when a woman called Anna Jarvis, a strong woman held a small memorial service for honouring her own mother on 12 May 1907, soon after most places in America and 27 March in Great Britain.