'The Road Dance'-Is A Moving, and Difficult Picture to Watch
A searing emotional drama, The Road Dance is a period piece that's gripping and heartbreaking. Richie Adams directs a fascinating film about deceit, love, hope, immigration, and trauma. The Road Dance deals with a heavy subject matter with delicacy.
At the height of World War One, a small Scottish village gets together for their local road dance, an event where everyone drinks, sings, and dances their sorrows away. Shortly into the film, the young men of the island are called into action. Before any of them depart, Garenin Village conducts a farewell road dance for the soon-to-be soldiers. Murdo MacAulay (Will Fletcher) falls in love with Kirsty Macleod (Hermione Corfield), vowing to marry her when he returns from the war. During the road dance, Kirsty encounters a terrible event.
Out in the beach area of the island, where nobody is around, Kirsty is brutally raped. The scene is handled with care. We can barely make out what's going on as the rape is happening in the darkness of the night. To prevent Kirsty from making any noise, she's loudly shushed by the rapist. Kirsty tries to raise her head to cry for help, but it's bashed to the ground against one of the hard rocks, causing Kirsty to have a concussion. There's no graphic nudity, and the scene doesn't last too long, nor does it try to pull an Irreversible. Director Richie Adams conducts the scene with as much minimalism as possible.
When the terrible event is over, Murdo notices Kirsty is in trouble, rushing to help her. Unfortunately, her attacker has left, and Kirsty is on her own, unable to make out who assaulted her. When you think things can't get worse for Kirsty, they do. The man she loves has to depart for the war, leaving Kirsty alone at home with her mother and sister. She's emotionally wrecked, staying mostly bedridden after the incident. The film becomes a true page-turner as we suspect the rapist could be anyone on the small island.
Rape, from the early 1900s to today, is a difficult thing for any woman to disclose. By describing what happened, the victim has to relive the trauma they experienced. Not only once or twice but again and again until something is done. Doctors examine Kirsty in the film like it's a revolving door clinic, and another horrible event occurs that could be more traumatic than the rape itself. There's no escaping the horror Kirsty went through with little to no end in sight for any relief from her pain.
The movie is set against a beautiful backdrop in the Isle of Lewis. It's something that counteracts the terrifying events that occurred to Kirsty. From the grassy knoll to the waves of the beach, the film's scenic beauty is similar to that of The Banshees of Inisherin. The island is a scenic place one may not want to leave but has to in the hopes of a better life. The film opens with Kirsty as a young girl, swimming on the beach with her father. From the distance, the two see a boat that is departing to America. The father and daughter have an exchange about moving out there one day. Little does Kirsty know what will make her want to take that ticket to get off the island one day.
The Road Dance isn't perfect. It can be melodramatic and corny from time to time. Lines like "I love you Kirsty Macleod" to "I love you Murdo MacAulay" caused my eyes to roll. There's also the beginning of the movie where the film says it says it's inspired by true events, with all the other words disappearing except the one that says "true," as if we couldn't read what the title said in the first place. Aside from some of its corny melodramatic dialogue, The Road Dance is a story about agony that's as relevant today as it was one hundred years ago. Whether you live on a small island or a large metropolitan area, there's no accounting for how hard it can be to disclose that someone violated your body. Hermione Corfield gives one of the best performances of the year as the film is extremely reliant on her character to carry the film.
The rest of the cast is good, but they can't measure up to the extent Corfield has to put into her role. Having to emulate one of the most horrific moments for a woman possible to having to react to the things that happen afterward is asking for a lot from an actor. Corfield pulls it off incredibly. I wish there were some scenes where she isn't asked to cry as much. Ms. Corfield already expresses enough that she doesn't need to weep at every traumatic incident. The Road Dance is a powerful movie that can be a bit too theatrical from time to time. But certainly not often enough to hinder the impact it leaves.
The Road Dance will play in select theaters and The Music Box Theater on October 13
