Never Steady, Never Still

If you don't treat yourself to this movie, you will indeed be missing out on one of the best pieces of acting 2018 cinema has to offer.

Hepburn doesn't demand that her characters conform to norms of sacrifice and redemption, preferring to follow Jamie and Judy's meandering, unhurried journey to cognizance and mutual appreciation.

Bleak but sometimes beautiful, the performance-driven feature debut is meatier than its slender plot might suggest, with a strong sense of place and an unsentimental frankness about conditions many filmmakers would milk for sympathy.

It's rather bleak but the camera work is exceptional, the pace languorous and Hepburn's screenplay deliberately ambiguous.

Settles on viewers as quietly as overnight snow on a wintering field.

British actress Shirley Henderson uses her soft voice and tiny frame to great effect.

Self-consciously sad to an almost obnoxious degree, despite the dedicated work of a wonderful cast.

The film becomes a journey of trials and tribulations with as much inspirational grace as crippling resentment. For every kindness comes an explosion of rage or embarrassment.

Henderson completely immerses herself in the character, emerging with a striking performance that gives Hepburn support to create an unusual examination of frustration in the wilds of Canada.

Like the remote and frequently challenging terrain, Never Steady, Never Still has a sublime, hypnotic gravitas.

There's not enough artistic merit in Kathleen Hepburn's film to make all its dourness worthwhile, but Henderson is excellent, and the scenes describing simple moments of compassion are poignant.

It's subtle and effective and the performances are understated but excellent.