Retreat (2011)

A mid-30s-ish, British, yuppie couple go on holiday to a remote island cottage, ostensibly to rekindle their struggling relationship. The locale is so isolated that they are the only ones on the entire island. To get there, they must be ferried from the mainland. The dwelling’s only power comes from a decrepit generator in the basement. The cottage’s walls are feet thick, its roof made of moss. There is nothing, and no one, around.

Kate (Thandie Newton; “Crash,” “RocknRolla,”) is a journalist, in the middle of writing a very personal article on her laptop. Her husband Martin (Cillian Murphy; “Batman Begins,” “Sunshine,” “Perrier’s Bounty,” “Intermission”) is an architect, who suffers with a slight case of asthma. They’re smart, good looking, and seem well intentioned. We like them immediately.

The tension between them is instantly evident, and seemingly growing. He invites her for a walk, and she tersely declines, deciding instead to focus on her writing. He jogs alone on the beach, and chops firewood. Though together, the pair seem as alone isolated as their location.

Gazing out an upstairs window, Kate’s startled to discover that they’re not alone: She’s sees a man staggering along one of the island’s paths, who ultimately collapses. They immediately run out to see what’s happened.

What they discover appears to be a young military officer (played by “Billy Elliot’s” Jamie Bell), bloodied an unconscious. They bring him back to the cottage, and leave him resting on the couch.

When the cranky generator blows, and CB radio stops working, the trio are cut-off from the outside world.

Who is this stranger? How’d he get here? What does he want? Why’s he bloody and out cold? 

So begins “Retreat,” the 2011 film made by first-time director Carl Tibbetts.

“Retreat” left me feeling ambivalent. On one hand, the film contains scenes of genuine suspense, where we’re unsure of characters’ motives, and whom exactly to trust. It covers similar ground to Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs,” where men are judged as either physical and brutish, or evolved and civilized, yet neutered. Likewise, themes of a small group banding together for survival against a potentially hostile and unforgiving outside world, echo Murphy’s earlier breakthrough film “28 Days Later.”

The visuals of the film are interesting and compelling. The cottage itself is creepy, rather than quaint and charming. Its isolation claustrophobic and disquieting. Also, the blustery island locale is dreary and imposing. This film feels cold and damp. If we could smell it, we’d smell dankness, sea spray and mildew.

The acting, too, is all first-rate, as well. Bell, in particular, conveys alternating moods of menace and sympathy. Murphy always manages to capture an empathic “everyman” quality worth rooting for. Newton’s version of a fragile woman struggling against something unspoken, yet emotionally heavy, feels perhaps a touch too ambitious for a suspense/thriller like this.

On the other hand, there are premises here that preposterously implausible. To reveal them would give away too many of the film’s secrets. Suffice to say that things happen which are highly unlikely. Characters behave in ways that few of us ever would. And the finale comes out of nowhere, raising more questions than it answers.

Despite it’s flaws, I'm not disappointed I saw “Retreat” (though I am that it wasn’t as good as it might’ve been). The initial conceit is original and thoughtful. It’s moody, atmospheric and well-paced throughout its brisk 90 minutes. There were times while watching when I thought “this is going to turn out to be a really terrific movie.” Though it wasn’t that, it wasn’t bad, either. Probably best described as “one of the better just-short-of-three-stars-out-of-five movies I’ve seen in a while.” Though not a ringing endorsement, you could do worse.