This film is part of Rentals
The Keeping Room
On the American frontier a young woman is forced to go to any means to defend her kin from the ravages of the barbaric outside world.
Overview
British director Daniel Barber’s second feature is a gripping, suspenseful drama set in the last days of the American Civil War. Two sisters, Augusta (Brit Marling, Another Earth) and Louise (Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit), together with the family’s African American slave Mad (Muna Otaru) fend for themselves on an isolated farm in the absence of their menfolk, who have long departed for the battlefields.
When Augusta ventures forth to fetch medicine for her sister, she encounters a pair of marauding Yankee scouts (Sam Worthington and Kyle Soller) with booze on their breath and destruction on their minds. Terrified, she retreats to the farm, certain that she will be called upon to defend all that she cherishes. Brit Marling is mesmerising as this feisty young woman whose instinct to fight and protect never waivers, even as unfamiliar desires take hold. Barber’s direction amplifies the tension, striking out boldly with moments of concentrated, explosive action and then lingering to savour the natural lyricism of the land itself (beautifully filmed by Martin Ruhe, Control). Julia Hart’s screenplay, which deftly overlays elements of the classic siege structure with the broody, romantic patina of the Deep South, proves rich source material for a filmmaker whose love of the western can also be detected in Harry Brown and the Oscar-nominated short The Tonto Woman.
Related
Rio Bravo Rio Bravo
Western 1958 141 mins Director: Howard Hawks
Hawks’ leisurely but surprisingly suspenseful chamber western mixes drama and comedy to create an unforgettable classic.
The Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch
Western 1969 145 mins Director: Sam Peckinpah
Peckinpah’s violent yet lyrical western is a nostalgic elegy for the passing of the Old West.
The Searchers The Searchers
Western 1956 119 mins Director: John Ford
John Ford created perhaps the greatest of all westerns with this tale of a Civil War veteran doggedly hunting the Comanche who kidnapped his niece.
The Outlaw Josey Wales The Outlaw Josey Wales
Western 1976 136 mins Director: Clint Eastwood
Josey Wales and his band of outsiders find themselves in danger in Clint Eastwood’s stunning western.
Unforgiven Unforgiven
Western 1992 131 mins Director: Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood's outstanding homage to Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Musical 1954 102 mins Director: Stanley Donen
Stanley Donen's classic musical western, in which a backwoodsman brings home his new bride, sparking inspiration in his six brothers, who decide they want to get married too.
A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2013 98 mins Director: Ben Rivers and Ben Russell
Visual artists Ben Rivers and Ben Russell’s mesmerising film follows an unnamed character through three phases of alternative existence, from rural commune to a black metal rock concert.
A Woman's Life A Woman's Life
Drama 2016 119 mins Director: Stéphane Brizé
Judith Chemla shines in this Guy de Maupassant adaptation, a tale spanning 20 years of a woman’s life.
Journeyman Journeyman
Drama 2018 92 mins Director: Paddy Considine
Paddy Considine directs and stars with Jodie Whittaker in this emotional knockout - the story of a boxer rebuilding his life after a near-fatal injury.
Custody Custody
Drama 2016 94 mins Director: Xavier Legrand
Myriam (Drucker) has recently left husband Antoine (Ménochet). She doesn’t want her youngest, Julien (Gioria), to see a father she claims is violent. But the judge rules otherwise, and the boy becomes a pawn in a bitter parental conflict…
Reinventing Marvin Reinventing Marvin
Drama 2017 114 mins Director: Anne Fontaine
A young gay man (Finnegan Oldfield ) flourishes under the tutelage of Isabelle Huppert's drama teacher, in this stirring drama from director Anne Fontaine (The Innocents).
Nancy Nancy
Drama 2018 86 mins Director: Christina Choe
Andrea Riseborough is extraordinary in this disquieting drama about a woman convinced that she was kidnapped as a child and might have found her real parents.
Four Daughters Four Daughters
Drama-documentary 2023 103 mins Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
The mother-daughter relationship is explored to cathartic effect in this complex and poignant hybrid documentary about a woman and her missing daughters.
Her Last Affaire Her Last Affaire
Drama 1936 68 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell's 'society drama’ involving suspicion, clandestine romance and presumed murder, and glorious comic double-act from Googie Withers and John Lurie.
She Will She Will
Thriller 2021 96 mins Director: Charlotte Colbert
In Charlotte Colbert’s strikingly gothic film, an ageing actor recovering from a mastectomy taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.
Rynox Rynox
Crime 1932 46 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s earliest existing film is a twisty thriller crafted with a bold visual style that is unmistakeably influenced by Fritz Lang.
Hotel Splendide Hotel Splendide
Comedy 1932 53 mins Director: Michael Powell
Music hall veteran Jerry Verno stars as a lowly clerk who gets more than he bargained for when he inherits a hotel, in Michael Powell's charming comedy.
The Night of the Party The Night of the Party
Crime 1934 61 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s fun stage adaptation about a murder at a society party, with characterful performances from its fine ensemble cast.