This year we’ve already seen Odysseus charter choppy waters to get home on the biggest of screens and in the feature debut from NY-based director Lindsey Ryan, a hard-up Irish-American family plead with Poseidon for good fortune at sea. Loosely inspired by the filmmaker’s own upbringing, comedy drama Capsized follows Diane (Lily Rabe), her husband (Rhy Ifans), their daughter Nicole (Sarah Catherine Hook), son Pat (Griffin Gluck) and the rest of their kids as they take an impromptu vacation on their houseboat. Reeling from the discovery of an eviction notice, they enter a potentially lucrative fishing competition in the hope of turning their luck around.
Not dissimilar to the aforementioned epic, there’s an ambition to Ryan’s craft in using practical effects on the waves; the piece is beautifully and naturally shot in the coastal port city of Wilmington, North Carolina which provides a picturesque yet rugged landscape to the story. The narrative has social-realist sensibilities and the sprawling but tight-knit family at its heart allows for subtle shifts in tone and focus. Light relief is born from the comical antics of the younger children which balances neatly with a more nuanced study of Nicole as she navigates a challenging relationship with her troubled, and often volatile, father. As the plot develops and we grow to root for the characters, there’s head-in-hands drama in the final act which is captured with the excitement of a sports movie.
As the patriarchal figure, Ifans appears to steer the ship but it quickly transpires that Diane is the real anchor; she manages the problematic ego of her husband whilst carrying the mental load and fending off classist micro-aggressions from the community. Performances are brilliant across the board, particularly from Rabe and Hook whose mother-and-daughter bond is tenderly explored whilst their characters show strength, resilience, and resourcefulness to keep the family afloat. An indie gem debut, Capsized illustrates an almost Loachian struggle with charm and sensitivity, celebrating the fighting spirit and togetherness of the central clan.
Cinema Perspective 