Cosmo Jarvis gives a stunning performance in Antonia Campbell-Hughes new film IT IS IN US ALL. Campbell-Hughes uses the film to delve into male masculinity and what hides beneath it. Jarvis plays Hamish, a man who has just arrived in Ireland to collect, or get rid of, what his late aunt has bequeathed him. In a rush of a scene, Hamish gets into a brutal head on car crash. He walks away with it, but his arm is left in a cast. The aftermath of the crash is what seems to awaken Hamish, who begins to question everything, from his own life to his family. He checks himself out of the hospital and heads to the home his Aunt has left him. It's not at all what he expected and he finds himself drawn to it, uncovering and connecting memories of his childhood.
He also develops an unexpected and intense friendship with a boy Evan (Rhys Mannion) who also survived the crash. Evan is drawn to Hamish, letting go when he's near him. Hamish is drawn to him, though they both seem to complete this moment in their lives without knowing exactly how. Hamish sees himself in Evan and Evan sees a different life in the brutish but curious Hamish. The fact that Hamish lets his guard down at all is stunning to him and he can't quite explain everything happening around him. They also share the secret of what really happened the night of the accident, a secret that seems to hold them together like a terrifying glue. The stunning scenery and cinematography complete the picture around the broken man and sequence after sequence seem to break into a hypnotic gaze. A sequence where Hamish watches Evan and his friends practice a dance is fascinating. It's as if a man is discovering bits of him that he never realized existed one piece at a time. Other moments of him screaming into the wind, of exploring inside a dance club. It's a slow build that tears into you slowly but surely. Under Campbell-Hughes assured direction, who often tells the story with minimal dialogue but clear-cut pictures, she creates a bold canvas for us to look upon and Jarvis gives us a performance that will simply daze you.
GRADE: A
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Antonia Campbell-Hughes STARRING Cosmo Jarvis, Rhys Mannion, Claes Bang, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Lalor Roddy SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2022 SXSW FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: IT IS IN US ALL