Rose of Nevada

‘Jesus Christ… She’s back.’ Imagine these words in a broad Cornish accent, with a very long pause in between, as a local discovers a little fishing boat washed up on a quiet harbour. Picture this shot on 16mm film, in director Mark Jenkin’s signature analogue style. And so the scene is set for a time-twisting fishing village mystery: one that may never be solved, but remains atmospheric and intriguing throughout. 

The Rose of Nevada was lost at sea 30 years ago, along with its small crew, in the days when the fishing village prospered. Now, its scant population includes those still deep in mourning, and those struggling to provide for their families, such as Nick (an excellent George MacKay). When Nick agrees to join a fishing trip on the newly-return trawler, an ominous, superstitious sense prevails. But rather than not coming home at all, Nick returns in a different year: 1993, a few years before he was even born. With him in this time loop is his crew mate Liam (Callum Turner). Rather than being greeted as strangers, they are each welcomed back as a former crew member of the Rose. While the opportunistic Liam accepts being taken for the partner of a local (Rosalind Eleazar), Nick is understandably freaked out to be mistaken for the son of his neighbours: a man he knows to be long dead in the present day. Unlike Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap, who ‘leapt’ willingly into the bodies of strangers to solve their problems, Nick didn’t sign up for this, and challenges Liam’s willingness to take advantage of the situation. 

Eerie yet entertaining, it’s Mark Jenkin’s most accessible film so far

But there’s not too much chat here: as ever with Jenkin, no sound is recorded live, so actors re-voice their entire dialogue in the edit. Jenkin is also the writer, director of photography and editor, sharing a story credit with actor (and his real-life partner) Mary Woodvine (Enys Men).

The lo-fi approach suits the concept well, and there is plenty of visual detail to savour and decode, from symbolic cracks in a ceiling to subtle nods to Back to the Future: look out for key moments with sneakers, baseball caps and queasy quasi-incestuous implications. But Rose of Nevada is very much its own film. Rooted in fishing folklore, it muses on myths and mystery, on the loss of livelihoods and loved ones. Eerie yet entertaining, it’s Jenkin’s most accessible film so far, while remaining anchored to his core Cornish principles.

In UK and Ireland cinemas Fri Apr 24.