It's the 50s Scotland. Joe Taylor (Ewan McGregor) and Les Gault (Peter Mullan) find a dead body in the water. The cops come and start an investigation. Joe starts flirting and having sex with Les' wife Ella (Tilda Swinton). The movie has many flashbacks which reveals that Joe was sleeping with the dead woman Cathie Dimly (Emily Mortimer).
The confused way of storytelling is deliberate and I wonder if it would be better to be a little clearer. Even a little thing like the year would be helpful. They need to explain that Joe is staying with Gaults. I thought they were related until Joe starts flirting with Ella. It would also be helpful to directly identify the dead body as Cathie Dimly right away. The flashbacks are not obvious at first which just leads to more confusions. If the connections are made more clear, the tension wouldn't be so muddied. The story does take a very compelling turn and finishes with a good ending.
The confused way of storytelling is deliberate and I wonder if it would be better to be a little clearer. Even a little thing like the year would be helpful. They need to explain that Joe is staying with Gaults. I thought they were related until Joe starts flirting with Ella. It would also be helpful to directly identify the dead body as Cathie Dimly right away. The flashbacks are not obvious at first which just leads to more confusions. If the connections are made more clear, the tension wouldn't be so muddied. The story does take a very compelling turn and finishes with a good ending.