Oscar-nominated Irish director Juanita Wilson’s second feature is an adaptation of the novel longlisted in 2000 for what was then the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award by ‘country noir’ author Daniel Woodrell, whose work has previously been brought to the big screen by Ang Lee in Ride With the Devil (1999) and Debra Granik in Winter’s Bone (2010).

Paroled from prison, Sammy (Jake Weary) tries to put a new life together in the Ozarks. He falls in with Jamalee Merridew (Julia Garner, Grandma), who wants nothing more than to escape her family, particularly mother Bev (Anna Friel), and the unavoidable reputation of the Merridew name in order to make it in Hollywood. Despite his initial doubts, Sammy comes to share her dreams of a better future before tragedy befalls the Merridews, and a terrible choice must be made.

Notes by Kevin Coyne