The Road Dance: Film Review
I went into The Road Dance completely cold and had no idea what it was about so imagine my surprise when it wasn’t actually centred around a road dance at all but a far more serious subject.
The film is set on the Isle of Lewis in the Scottish Outer Hebrides in 1916. At first, it focuses on Kirsty Macleod (Hermione Corfield) and her secret romance with Murdo Macaulay (Will Fletcher) and their plan to escape the island and emigrate to America together. But then all the men are called up to fight on the Western Front and Murdo has to leave. On the night before his departure, the locals have a road dance to send them off. Something devastating happens to Kirsty and she has to deal with the ramifications alone.
Poor Kirsty goes through an ordeal and one upsetting thing after another in this dark, old-fashioned tale. Murdo may be facing war on the Western Front but Kirsty is faced with hell at home without her loved one to turn to. This all sounds super bleak and serious but I can assure you it’s not. Kirsty does get put through the wringer but it didn’t weigh heavily on me or feel like too much.
I must admit my attention dipped after Murdo went off to the war. The film became quite slow as Kirsty whiled away the months exchanging letters with him. But then it got really juicy and dramatic and I was hooked from that point on. From that moment onwards, everything sort of snowballs and it got really interesting.
Corfield does an excellent job in this emotionally gruelling role. I wasn’t aware of her work and came away impressed. She is well supported by Morven Christie as the religious mum torn between what is proper and what she must do for her daughter. And their family is completed by Ali Fumiko Whitney as Kirsty’s supportive sister Annie. The most recognisable face among the cast is Mark Gatiss as the island’s trusty doctor.
There is a whodunnit element to the film and I guessed who it was quite early on. Although the reveal didn’t take me by surprise, it felt satisfying to have my suspicions confirmed. I also thought the revelation was executed really well and served as a good way to end the saga and Kirsty’s turmoil.
In selected cinemas from Friday 20th May