FILM REVIEW: Rose of Nevada (2025)

Rose of Nevada - New Release Review

Director: Mark Jenkin

Starring: George MacKay, Callum Turner, Francis Magee, Edward Rowe, Rosalind Eleazar, Mary Woodvine

Written by: Mark Jenkin

Produced by: Denzil Monk

Cinematography by: Mark Jenkin

Original Score by: Mark Jenkin

Synopsis:

A mysterious boat returns to a village 30 years after vanishing. Two men join its crew hoping for better fortune. After one voyage, they find themselves transported back in time, mistaken for the original crew.

Thoughts:

Mark Jenkin returns with his very intriguing and very niche particular style of filmmaking in 'Rose of Nevada', which acts as a spiritual threequel to his first two Cornish fishing village, folk-horror(ish), kitchen sink dramas 'Bait' and 'Enys Men'. However this one feels more complete, albeit still an unsolved puzzle, and is definitely the more mature of his three feature projects to date.

George McKay stars as Nick, a hapless father who is struggling somewhat to provide for his wife and toddler. The small, sleepy fishing village where they live has seen better days and his house is falling apart, literally. All he wants to do is get a decent paying job to fix the roof. His fortune changes when a dilapidated old fishing boat drifts into the harbour, one that has been missing for 30 years, and Nick volunteers to join the crew.

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The captain of the boat is played by the wonderful Francis Magee, whose authenticity for the role is second to none. But they need one more and the boat can't be sent off shorthanded so Liam (Callum Turner), cheekier and more astute than Nick, rounds out the numbers.

Their first trip out to sea is a successful one and both Nick and Liam return to shore in need of a stiff drink and a loving woman to cuddle but something has changed while they were away. The village is busier and the local pub is full of patrons. However the biggest and most alarming change is that Nick and Liam are both mistaken for the boat's original crew and that somehow they have travelled back in time to 1993.

Like Jenkin's previous feature films 'Rose of Nevada' moves at quite a slow pace taking in almost every inch of the film's locations and focussing on the circumstances that the characters are confined within. It's a beautifully shot film that invites you into the world of these characters on a deeply personal level and all three of the core cast are in magnificent form. I suppose it's technically a work of science fiction, leaning into "twilight zone" and "Bermuda triangle" type lore but Jenkin's idiosyncratic cinematography gives it a folk horror look and feel.

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Although this is on a slightly higher level, if you weren't a fan of 'Bait' and/or 'Enys Men' then you might struggle with this one. The narrative isn't difficult to follow but the lack of explanation or even the exploration of a resolution won't be for everyone. I enjoyed the ambiguity and the fact that Jenkin chooses to focus on visual storytelling, bleak and dreamlike, harkening back to a simpler, dare I say it happier time. It's not a happier time for Nick as he has lost his wife and child but for Liam, things couldn't be better. He has gained a family and doesn't even care what his real name used to be.

Jenkin's compulsion to use old cameras and record dialogue in post is still captivating a third time around and his meandering but absorbing ability to pull you into his stories is almost unparalleled in modern British cinema.

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

-Gavin Logan

'Rose of Nevada' opens in selected US cinemas on June 19th and available on BFI Player in the UK later this year.