God's Creatures (film)

God's Creatures is a 2022 psychological drama film directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer with the screenplay written by Shane Crowley, based on a story he wrote with producer Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly.

It stars Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, Aisling Franciosi, Declan Conlon, Toni O'Rourke, Marion O'Dwyer, Brendan McCormack, and Lalor Roddy.

In a small remote Irish fishing village, Aileen (Watson) works as a shift manager at the local seafood processing plant alongside Mary (O'Dwyer), whose son Mark recently drowned at sea, and Sarah (Franciosi), a young woman experiencing marital troubles with her husband Francie (McCormack).

At Mark's funeral reception, Aileen's estranged son Brian (Mescal) unexpectedly returns after a lengthy and unexplained move to Australia.

While initially caught off-guard, Aileen is delighted to reunite her family together alongside husband Con (Conlon), daughter Erin (O'Rourke) with her newborn son, and elderly father-in-law Paddy (Roddy) who is in a vegetative state.

God's Creatures was announced on 22 May 2019, when it was reported that Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer would direct a then-untitled gothic film produced by Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly.

[3] In June 2020, it was announced that BBC Film, Screen Ireland, and the Western Region Audiovisual Producer's Fund (WRAP) would finance the project.

Crew members included production designer Inbal Weinberg, cinematographer Chayse Irvin, and editor Julia Bloch.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Painfully raw yet rewarding, God's Creatures explores the limits of a mother's love with an outstanding Emily Watson leading the way".

The header summary stated: "God's Creatures is an unnerving rural gothic tale with two quietly fierce performances that make the film's slow burn to its climax worth the wait.

Holmer, Davis, Crowley, Watson, Mescal, Franciosi, and O'Rourke at the 2022 Directors' Fortnight .