This film felt like one I should appreciate, given my background – a good cast and an intriguing premise are present – yet I ultimately found myself distinctly unimpressed by its lackluster execution. The story centers on a rural Scottish community that awakens to find damage to the Laird “Kent’s” barn from a fire. Adding to the strangeness, smoke is also rising from where some new arrivals have spent the night. Naturally, suspicions arise, but before things escalate, “Walt” (Caleb Landry Jones) tries to figure out what happened, and two of the visitors end up in the stocks. Simultaneously, the villagers are apprehensive about “Quill” (Arinzé Kane), who not only has an unusual style of dress but is also working for someone to survey the estate with a view to increasing its output. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that “Kent” and “Walt” were once close friends, but shared tragedy has left them diminished versions of their former selves. The situation reaches a peak when “Jordan” (Frank Dillane) appears, asserting ownership of the entire village and demanding everyone relocate so he can raise sheep. Where are they supposed to go? There’s an attempt to highlight the local dialect, which is often quite earthy, but unfortunately, the audio mixing is noticeably poor, making it difficult to understand much of the dialogue – a significant drawback for a drama that relies heavily on characters and their conversations. The plot itself progresses slowly, presenting conflicting historical ideas that seem disconnected from what we actually see happening, and by the time we reach an unresolved ending, I was not only puzzled but also surprisingly detached from the whole thing. Neither CLJ nor Melling manage to make a strong impression, although this is likely due in part to their underdeveloped characters. The villagers’ internal conflicts and superstitious behaviors felt overly stereotypical of Scottish, English, British, or even Brazilian cultures. It does possess an authentic production design, and it's evident that considerable effort was invested in recreating a community governed by a landed gentry – notably without any prominent religious figure – who lived a vastly different life from their laborers. I’m not familiar with the book this is based on, but I suspect the politics surrounding the Highland Clearances may have been an influence here. However, like everything else, that element feels underdeveloped as well. I've watched it twice now and believe I've extracted all there is to gain from something that simply feels unfinished and somewhat irritating.

Source on TMDB