There are countless stories that depict rural life in the first half of the 20th century, often in America, illustrating the hardships of living off the land before farming was mechanized. They tend to be very similar and exclude specific difficulties faced by women as they are generally told from the perspective of the family unit or the “head of the household.” Conversely, Sunset Song is conveyed by a young woman who transitions from daughter and sister to wife and mother.
Chris Guthrie’s (Agyness Deyn) father (Peter Mullan) is a curmudgeonly Scot who demands all tasks be completed with his permission and to his satisfaction. Her older brother, Will (Jack Greenlees), regularly tests these rules and always pays dearly for his disobedience. Their mother (Daniela Nardini) is also at their father’s mercy, forced to serve him as he pleases and endlessly bear his children. Eventually, Chris is finally given the opportunity to stand on her own and she proves to be a very capable woman. She chooses a loving husband, Ewan (Kevin Guthrie), and the two begin a beautiful life together. But the war against Germany also permeates Scotland’s borders, tarnishing any and all happiness with its violence and demands.
The entire story is told from Chris’ perspective. Occasionally she interjects as a third-person narrator, providing a poetic observation in hindsight that is read from a book she presumably penned later in life. She watches her mother suffer and grow progressively weary under her father’s reign, as well as her brother whose tolerance for his tyranny grows shorter each day. Chris endeavours to be a school teacher, but she finds it increasingly difficult not to be dragged down by her family’s drama. However once she breaks free of their oppression, she’s quick to not allow anyone to regain such power over her again.
The film is a romantic period drama that focuses on this woman’s life as she navigates rural living and tries to reconcile it with her desire to not repeat her mother’s mistakes. The camera almost never ventures further than Chris’ small town and, even then, it only leaves the farm for special occasions. There are few sweeping landscapes, instead focusing on the minutiae of living in relative seclusion, tilling the land and confronting most of life’s difficulties alone. Writer/director Terence Davies is becoming well-versed in producing low-key narratives that emphasize the challenges faced by women in particular situations.
Director: Terence Davies
Starring: Agyness Deyn, Peter Mullan and Kevin Guthrie
