THE HIDE

It’s a common belief that lacklustre and clichéd characters are always a hindrance to a movie regardless of how lavish the budget and special effects may be. Does it then follow then that if we have a minimalistic setting but a couple of quality characters a movie will enthral us? After watching Marek Loseys directorial debut, THE HIDE, I am confident I can justify a resounding YES to answer the question I just posed….

THE HIDE, in this instance, refers to an isolated shelter that recluse Roy Tunt (Alex MacQueen) uses for his pursuit of bird watching. Yes he has other hobbies such as making model trains, collecting garden gnomes and pottering around in his shed, but bird watching, ornithology has he prefers to call it, is his passion. After the fastidious ritual of arranging his paraphernalia, Roy settles in another attempt at visually capturing the one bird that has always eluded him - the Vanellus Gregarius, more commonly known as the social plover.

Roy’s knowledge of birds borders on being encyclopaedic! He knows facts, colourings and calls. For example, did you know a group of Crows is correctly termed a ‘Murder of Crows’? Nope neither did I!! And neither did David John (Phil Campbell) who barges in on Roy’s covert sanctuary. David is a man in crisis. Swigging on a bottle of neat vodka, he menacingly engages in conversation with the eccentric ornithologist. When a police helicopter flies overhead, it becomes obvious to Roy that David is a man on the run from the law. Despite being intimidated by his street wise intruder, Roy remains hospitable and before long, both the men reveal some delicate personal details to each other. When David’s inebriation gets the better of him and seduces him into a snooze, Roy wills the police to make their swoop. But does he need to police to rescue him, or does Mr Tunt have a more macabre reason for the boys in blue to visit THE HIDE…

THE HIDE has been adapted from Tim Whitnall’s critically acclaimed stage play called THE SOCIABLE PLOVER. Unlike many book adaptations that leap onto the silver screen and tend to be rehashed inferior products to their literary genesis, Whitnall actually wrote the screenplay for Losey’s movie alas remaining the creative force behind the project.

I don’t recall ever seeing a movie whereby there is a cast of only two actors, but my goodness did casting director Kate Plantill pull a master stroke when she plumped for Alex MacQueen and Phil Campbell. It was truly engrossing watching two actors at the top of their game sparring with their characters conflicting personalities. The quality of their performances breathing life into Whitnal’s script is such that the first 50 minutes of the 82, featuring the two men in mere dialogue without alluding to the plot was absolutely riveting to watch. To quote the old adage, "simplicity is genius" would be to ignore the complexities of Roy and David’s personalities and would also overlook the slick humour that effortlessly seeped into their conversation.

But this was not just a platform for two excellent British actors to exhibit their immense talent. The initial discourse between the double act very cleverly arms the tale with clues and facts that helps give the film a plausible and satisfying conclusion. This was a sinister story, featuring desperate plights and circumstances that were topped off with a delightfully macabre climatic twist.

I am not sure how much was added or edited from the stage production, if anything, but there are a couple of genuinely tense ‘edge of the seat’ movie moments that almost had me cringing. Those, along with a couple of ferocious bursts of violence, really helped complete this unique picture.

The film is intentionally drained of bright colours leaning towards a murky rural atmosphere. Its bleak milieu undoubtedly allows the odd vibrant smatter of crimson in the surreal flashbacks of crows pecking at raw flesh appear more intense. Thankfully the DVD retains the 16:9 anamorphic presentation, which affords one of our protagonists forefront of the screen while the other almost subliminally exists in the background.

THE HIDE is definitely one of the most original and captivating movies that I have had the pleasure of watching lately.

Review by Marc Lissenburg