Kirk (2009)
Country: UK
Production Company: Strathendrick Film Society
Executive Producer: Joan Macpherson
Producer/Gaffer/Key Grip: Matthew Marwick
Director/Cinematographer/Editor/Visual Effects/Sound: Michael Ferns
Screenplay: Mairin Mcleod
Music: Raymond Ferns
Art Director: Carol Angel
Costumes: Tracy Macdonald
Special Make-up Effects: Irene Tremble, Jo Durham
Make-up: Christabel Shaw
Best Boy: Ryan Baston
Length: 90 mins
Budget: £7,355 (US$12,031)
Locations: Culross, Fife; Loch Lomond; Cashel Forest, Stirlingshire.
Cast: Mark Harvey (Reverend Robert Kirk), Amiera Darwish (Abigail Kirk), Callum Fuller (Reverend Young), Rachel Gibson (Mary Macpherson/Lady of the Loch), James Watterson (The Clerk).
James Watterson, Rachel Gibson, Mark Harvey, Amiera Darwish, and Callum Fuller.
Synopsis: Aberfoyle, Scotland, 1691. The Reverend Robert Kirk believes he has discovered a realm of supernatural beings that exists between Earth and Heaven. With the help of Mary Macpherson, a mysterious local girl who may be the bridge between worlds, Kirk desperately sets out to prove his theory to his pregnant wife, at the risk of alienating both her and the Church.
Review: Despite its inherent beauty and lyrical history, Scottish film has recently been known for hard-edged, contemporary material from the likes of Peter Mullan (Orphans), and Richard Jobson (16 Years of Alcohol), and gritty genre work from Craig Strachan (Wild Country), and Kerry Anne Mullaney (The Dead Outside). It's a delight, therefore to discover a new film from young talent that reflects the more whimsical side of Scottish life, experienced in fondly-remembered films like Local Hero (1983), and Whisky Galore! (1949), while exploring the darker events that can ensue when fantasy meets reality and complex morality.
The story is loosely based on the legend behind the writing of The Secret Commonwealth of Elves Fauns and Fairies by the Reverend Robert Kirk (1644–1692), a scholar, Episcopalian minister, and seventh son of a seventh son, whose mysterious death was followed by reports of sightings, during which he claimed to be a captive of the Fairies. Kirk, an educated man (he was the first to translate the bible into Gaelic), who believed his birth gave him second sight (or "secret virtue" as he called it), was writing at a time when a belief in folklore was tantamount to witchcraft, and it's this tension, and the toll it took on his marriage, that form the basis of Mairin Mcleod's screenplay.
First time multi-hyphenate Michael Ferns deserves the respect of having his age sited only once – he's 17, and looks three years younger – as this is an assured debut, with the courage to take time to tell a good story, never succumbing to explicitly revealing the objects of Kirk's belief, except through dream sequences that may be the result of his fevered imagination.
Ferns and Mcleod have created a haunting elegy, a tone poem that intrigues and rewards the viewer with a wrenching emotional payoff as ambiguous as it is satisfying. The acting throughout also belies the lack of on-screen experience, with Mark Harvey as Kirk displaying the kind of tortured determination that Ben Affleck pulls off at his best, and Rachel Gibson, in a dual role as village girl Mary Macpherson, who claims to have seen the fairy folk, and as an ethereal spirit from the depths of the loch, evinces a wide-eyed innocence, and an enviable ability to withstand extremely cold water.
Callum Fuller as a minister in conflict with Kirk's beliefs, and with un-ecclesiastical designs on his wife, avoids the villainous mannerisms that would have made the character a cliché, and special mention must be made of Amiera Darwish, as Abigail Kirk, who carries the emotional weight of the film and is both stunning and intelligent in her performance.
Amiera Darwish as tortured Abigail Kirk.
Fern's camera work is also deserving of praise, shot on video, but processed to give a pleasingly filmic quality, he clearly knows how to move a camera – his master tracking shots being particularly effective – even if some interior close-ups would have benefited from being more locked down. The music, composed by the director's father Raymond, pulls you in from the first note, and acts as a tender counterpoint to the narrative (listen here on the composer's website) particularly in a pivotal scene where Kirk and Mary, unable to express their feelings in words, dance to celebrate their discovery. The only slight problem here is a tendency over-rely on the music, and a forgivable (given the budget) use of synthesized strings and choral effects.
Kirk was a worthy winner of Best Independent Feature, on its premiere at the 2009 International Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester, but we may need to wait a while until Michael Ferns has completed his studies at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, to see him continue with his work. However, on this evidence, and with several shorts already completed in a variety of genres (including the horror film, Blind Man's Bluff), it's hopeful that Scotland may have found an heir to the vacant seat once occupied by the sadly missed Bill Forsyth and Alexander Mackendrick.
November 23, 2010 at 2:57 PM
Hi :) Congratulations for your blog!
Do you know where I can find the movie Kirk?
I've been searching in Amazon, ebay etc without success.
I live in Lisbon, Portugal
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