The Volunteer
Mary Woodvine
The Volunteer

A wildlife volunteer on an uninhabited island off the British coast descends into a terrifying madness that challenges her grip on reality and pushes her into a living nightmare.
Official Trailer Official
The Volunteer
Mary Woodvine
The Volunteer
The Boatman
Edward Rowe
The Boatman
The Girl
Flo Crowe
The Girl
The Preacher
John Woodvine
The Preacher
The Miner
Joe Gray
The Miner
The Baby
Loveday Twomlow
The Baby
Sound Engineer
Callum Mitchell
Sound Engineer
The Boatman (uncredited)
Morgan Val Baker
The Boatman (uncredited)
Bal Maiden (uncredited)
Amanda Rawling
Bal Maiden (uncredited)
The Boatman (uncredited)
Dion Star
The Boatman (uncredited)
The Boatman (uncredited)
Isaac Woodvine
The Boatman (uncredited)
This is an almost entirely single-handed, dialogue free, story of a woman who is taking (very basic) climate and wildlife data on an otherwise uninhabited island off the Cornish Coast. Clearly this has been a mining island in days gone by, with ruins and mine-workings strewn around the place and those exude a sort of creepiness that is only augmented by the constant wind and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks. Her days are routine, to say the least, but gradually we start to realise that the island has been touched by tragedy - as has the woman (Mary Woodvine) herself. Auteur Mark Jenkin doesn't rush with this, but rather takes his time to slowly but surely allow us to put together some of the pieces of just what drew this woman to this isolated and lonely spot. It's that repetitive pacelessness that I struggled with. We see the same shots over and over again, the same procedures and scenarios and though there is a very incremental development of the plot, the whole thing just doesn't really move. It has the hallmarks of an original "Poldark" episode married with the "Dr. Who - Stones of Blood" series from 1978. To be fair, it has a very authentic 1973 feel to it, and the audio mixing coupled with some sparingly used visual effects do help create a very slight air of mystery and tragedy, but I found it all just a bit lacking. Worth a watch though, but I'm not sure I will watch it again.
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Mark Kermode reviews Enys Men (2022) | BFI Player
Mark Jenkin and Mary Woodvine on Enys Men
Mark Jenkin on Enys Men, hosted by Mark Kermode
Enys Men Intro by Dennis Lim
The Making of ENYS MEN
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