\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.craft.cloud\/26ed9c78-feb7-4ee6-8ddf-262fd7bafb2d\/assets\/tco\/images\/Islands.jpg\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a\u00a0man face down in the sand, unmoving. Nothing but vast golden sand dunes and endless blue sky surrounds him. Then, his body twitches awake. This is the raspy and rugged Tom (Sam Riley), who regularly wakes up hungover on the beach or by the pool or in his car with no recollection of how he got there. This jarring opening to German director Jan-Ol\u00e9 Gerster\u2019s first English-language film sets the stage for one man\u2019s wandering descent into a\u00a0shrouded mystery that shifts between thrilling and sluggish.<\/p>\n
Combining Hitchcockian thrills with a\u00a0seductive European sensibility, Islands <\/i>is a\u00a0slow-burner set in an all-inclusive Canary Islands resort. Tom, a\u00a0professional tennis player-turnedcoach, spends his days pelting balls at holidaymakers. He has resigned himself to a\u00a0self-destructive cycle of drinking and one-night stands. Then a\u00a0peculiar British couple, Anne (Stacy Martin) and Dave (Jack Farthing), arrive seeking one-on-one tennis lessons for their young son Anton (Dylan Torrell). He has an instant connection with the family and finds himself with renewed vigour as he shows them his favourite dinner spot and takes them out for drinks. However, the next morning, Dave is nowhere to be found, Anne is blas\u00e9, and Tom becomes entangled in a\u00a0claustrophobic police investigation.<\/p>\n Delightfully, Islands<\/i> doesn\u2019t patronise viewers. The film refuses to confirm or deny suspicions. It\u2019s an exhilarating feast from co-writers Gerster, Bla\u017e Kutin and Lawrie Doran who pen this winding tale with sharp subtlety. There are fleeting nods in Gerster\u2019s frame, like Anne\u2019s hand trailing down Tom\u2019s back and him nervously massaging sunscreen onto her back. While Tom is accustomed to tennis rallies, the back-and-forth with Anne reaches a\u00a0new level of intensity. Seduction crackles under the overhead sun as local investigators take note of their cosiness. Dascha Dauenhauer\u2019s hauntingly sinister soundtrack underscores the growing sense of dread that accompanies Anne\u2019s bizarrely erratic actions and Tom\u2019s swelling anxiety. This layered role of engrossing interiority provides plenty for Riley to dig into, with Martin\u2019s hypnotic performance giving him a\u00a0chance to showcase his impressive backhand.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a\u00a0shame, then, that this tantalising thriller fumbles its pacing and could have done with a\u00a0sharper pass in the editing room. The second act overstays its welcome, like a\u00a0long summer day that plods by. Though cinematographer Juan Sarmiento G\u2019s camera observes the gorgeous coastal surroundings like a\u00a0lucid dream that no one can wake up from, the dawdling plot stalls all the bristling tension that has been\u00a0built.<\/p>\n \u2018<\/span>No man is an island,\u2019 the saying goes, but Tom certainly felt alone in deep waters until Anne\u2019s family arrived on his shores. When driving his new British friends around the island, Tom points out a\u00a0smoking volcano on nearby Lanzarote. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Is it going to erupt?\u201d Dave asks. \u200b\u201c<\/span>You never know,\u201d Tom replies. Gerster\u2019s ominous portrait of a\u00a0man and his isolation serves as a\u00a0reminder that burying one\u2019s head in the sand will ultimately lead to self-implosion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nGet more Little White\u00a0Lies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n