God's Creatures

In an Irish coastal village where the local fishing industry supports most families, Aileen O'Hara lives with her husband Con, her father-in-law Paddy and her adult daughter Erin. After a young man from the community is found drowned, Aileen, a shift supervisor at the fish processing plant, is startled by the return of her son Brian, who left years earlier to seek his fortunes in Australia. She helps him revive his grandfather's oyster farm, and the lie she tells to shield and advance him unsettles her family and the wider village, setting up a moral dilemma that reaches well beyond her own household.

God's Creatures is a drama directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer, following their earlier feature The Fits and marking the second film in their directing filmography. Emily Watson plays Aileen, with Paul Mescal as Brian, Aisling Franciosi as Sarah Murphy, Declan Conlon as Con, Toni O'Rourke as Erin and Marion O'Dwyer as Mary Fitz. Shane Crowley wrote the screenplay and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly produced for A24, BBC Film, Screen Ireland and the WRAP Fund.

The film holds a rating of 6 out of 10 on IMDb from around 4,300 votes and 6.1 out of 10 on TMDB from 98 votes, while its critics' rating stands at 7.2 out of 10 from 98 reviews, a noticeably warmer reception than from general audiences.