Hold Back the Night

Three apparently ill-matched souls find a measure of understanding in this telegraphed drama. Charleen (Tremarco) is on the run from her home in the Midlands, where her dad has been abusing her handicapped sister; Declan (Sinclair Blyth) has left a conventional upbringing behind to find himself on the road as an eco-warrior. After a fracas with the police at his latest protest site, Declan and Charleen take refuge in a camper van by the roadside, and find themselves in the company of Vera (Hancock), who's on her way to the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney for a sentimental reunion of sorts before advancing illness gets the better of her. So the scene is set for a study in cross-generational misunderstanding and coming together. Young folk learn a little about life, old girl gets to realise they're not such a bad lot, and so forth. Thankfully, Hancock's performance is a wonder of restraint, which more or less keeps the film going while we wonder why the sexual abuse subplot feels so superficial, why Declan is relatively undeveloped, and what the film-makers thought they would gain by delivering exactly what we expect from beginning to end.