HOME INVASION (LIES WE TELL)

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There's dark and then there's really dark.

Lisa Mulcahy's Irish period drama 'Lies We Tell' falls into that latter camp.

Adapted from Sheridan Le Fanu's Victorian Gothic novel 'Uncle Silas,' the film is a brutal examination of familial greed and the lengths some people will go to satisfy it.

Agnes O'Casey stars as Maud, a young woman recently bereaved following the death of her wealthy father.

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Living on the Knowl estate, as per her father's will the family's fortune has been left to her but is handled by two trustees, Mark Doherty's Doctor Brylerly and Kieran Roche's Captain Ilbury.

However he has also instructed his brother, David Wilmot's Silas to be Maud's guardian.

Silas comes with a lot of baggage, though, having been suspected, when he was younger, of the murder in Knowl of a man he owed a gambling debt to but whose death was ruled as a suicide.

Unable to lift the cloud of suspicion, Silas has also amassed a lot of debt.

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Silas also comes with a family, Holly Sturton's flighty daughter Emily and Chris Walley's feckless son Edward.

Emily has a French Governess, played by Grainne Keenan, also in tow.

Initially Silas is full of sweetness and light as he engages Maud, appearing really proud of his niece.

However as the movie wears on, it becomes clear that he sees Maud's fortune as a means to the end of sorting out his financial problems.

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He tries to stage manage a marriage between her and Edward.

However his son repulses Maud and when she rejects Edward's marriage proposal, tensions between her and Silas escalate as her uncle tries to assert authority over her.

A vicious battle of wits erupts with traumatic consequences but who will come out on top?

Jettisoning a third of Sheridan Le Fanu's 1864 novel, Mulcahy turns the plot into a Gothic period home invasion thriller in which greedy relatives try to seize control of Muad's inheritance.

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Their avarice unleashes horrific acts of violence and psychological torture but the film focuses on Maud's refusal to have her spirit broken.

O'Casey turns in a fierce performance as Maud, emphasising her dogged determination not to be destroyed by her horrible relatives.

Wilmot does a good job as the chief villain, initially cloaking his character's unpleasantness before stripping the pretence away to reveal his true self 

Walley is handed a challenging role as the feckless, bullied, easily manipulated son pushed into committing horrific acts.

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We're several worlds away from his best known role as Jock in 'The Young Offenders'.

Sturton is effective as the fickle and breezy as Emily, while there is a touch of Mrs Danvers about Keenan's Governess.

Doherty revels in the pomposity of the doctor, while Roche offers some real heart as Captain Ilbury in an otherwise bleak tale.

Elaine O'Dwyer, John Olohan and Eleanor Methven cast knowing looks as the servants on the Knowl estate, Mary Quince and Mr and Mrs Rusk. 

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Working on a tight budget, Mulcahy and her cinematographer are resourceful and build an unsettling atmosphere.

They use darkness and amber light in a manner that is reminiscent of Roger Michell's 2017 Gothic thriller 'My Cousin Rachel'.

At times, the bleak, cold mise en scene in daytime also calls to mind William Oldroyd's 2016 period drama 'Lady Macbeth' with Florence Pugh which had the same foreboding air.

Working from Elisabeth Gooch's screenplay, the cruelty depicted by Mulcahy will no doubt be difficult for some people to stomach.

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One pivotal scene is as cruel as a film like this can possibly get and may hold the key to whether you can take it or not. 

If you can, you will find Mulcahy's movie a fascinating tale of feminine resistance.

The idea of a Gothic home invasion thriller is also an interesting one - even if the concluding scenes slighly jar.

'Lies We Tell' will not be everyone's type of movie.

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However it announces Mulcahy as a director with a lot to offer even on a small budget.

Imagine what she could do with a larger one.

Luckily, we'll get to find out next year when the second series of the Jamie Dornan BBC thriller 'The Tourist' returns.

('Lies We Tell' was released in UK and Irish cinemas on October 13, 2023)