Islander

Before seeing “Islander,” I knew little about the art of lobster fishing. To be honest, my ignorance didn’t bother me: as long as the crustacean found its way to my plate, with a side of melted butter, the world would keep spinning. Now, I’m all but an expert at the art of “bug catching,” an expression that stirs up more drama than the average land-dweller would think.

“Islander,” writer-director Ian McCrudden’s latest project, chronicles the life of a lobster fisherman learning to accept the consequences of an act which tears his life apart. Although the film’s plot lacks narrative drive, the strong sense of place, quirky subject material, and solid acting carries the film from a dramatic start to a heartwarming finish.

Eben Cole, a lifelong fisherman on a small island off the coast of Maine, loses his friends, family, and lifestyle when an accident at sea lands him in jail. The accident, poorly shot and hardly believable, results from an ongoing skirmish between islander fishermen and mainland fishermen. After serving his five-year sentence, Cole returns to the island, determined to painstakingly rebuild the life he once had.

Shot on location, the film offers a glimpse into the world of lobster fishing, and its portrait of the Maine island lifestyle distinguishes the film from typical down-on-your luck productions. The portrayal of the maritime community—both insular and incestuous, at once supportive and condemning—is both authentic and well-developed. Many of the shots of the island and its coast, particularly the Maine sunsets, speak to the location’s uniqueness.

Coupled with the folksy score, including a number of songs written by McCrudden, the backdrop harbors more originality than the rest of the film.

Cole’s honest struggle to rebuild his broken life is a moving one, but the plot drags, then comes to a complete stop. Emotions run high from the start as the film plunges into an aggressive war between the mainlanders and islanders, but McCrudden fails to maintain that momentum.

Moreover, the cinematography lacks inspiration. Many of the shots border on cliché: Cole pushing his daughter Sara on the swings to illustrate his former idyllic life; a blooming flower to symbolize rebirth; Cole’s constant, brooding face looking out to the ocean.

Despite the lackluster storyboarding, shining performances from Tom Hildreth (Cole) and Amy Jo Johnson (Cole’s wife Cheryl) rescue the film from future obscurity.

Hildreth, a Maine native, also co-wrote the screenplay with McCrudden, and his rugged portrayal projects authenticity. Johnson—known to most audiences as the Pink Power Ranger—pulls off a compelling portrayal of a wife struggling to support and raise her child alone (and she manages to do it without transforming into a robot!)

If nothing else, “Islander” offers a glimpse of a world we lobster-eaters wouldn’t otherwise see. Eben describes the community best: “On an island we’re all related. Whether we like to think so or not.”