First time director Ariane Labed almost makes this darkly gothic tale work but fumbles its tricksy reveal.

July (Mia Tharia) and her oppressively close sister September (Pascale Kann) are the ordinary but weird kids at their stereotypically awful UK high school. Their single mother Sheela (Rakhee Thakrar) doesn’t seem to have a firm grasp on parenting, oscillating between stern disappointment and mollycoddling. 

September is dominant – sometimes helpfully when she calms July down or stands up to her bullies but increasingly coercive. “September says…dance. September says…eat this jar of mayonnaise. September says…cut yourself with this knife.” July is a dreamer and easily influenced, needing protection. 

An incident at the school sees them all relocate to the girls’ parental grandmother’s empty and remote beach house. Sheela is clearly struggling with her mental health and keeps to her room or a local bar. The girls roam the windswept beaches and make friends. 

This is just about the point where I realised what the film’s secret was. I’m not sure what tipped me off but it was a few beats before it was narratively revealed. It’s not a bad one and has been done enough in other films to be something of a trope. It’s in keeping with the gloomy angst of the characters but is doesn’t feel completely diegetically coherent. The flashback to explain it is almost laughable and it left me feeling off-kilter and struggling to reframe the story (based on the book Sisters by Daisy Johnson). 

It’s not a complete write off and Labed, who you’ll know from many acting roles in films like The Lobster (2015) and The Souvenir (2019), perhaps will get it right next time.