A man with no name arrives in a small town in Michigan, heads to the harbor and buys a dilapidated boat. He is taciturn and withdrawn, nursing a private grief that unfolds in flashback. His halting progress in repairing the boat is monitored by two locals, an old seafarer with a similarly haunted past and a pretty waitress trying to quit smoking. With minimal dialogue but significant emotional content, Eyre’s film limns the mourning process, showing how the protagonist’s hands-on labors give him the time and space to reflect on his sorrows and perhaps the ability to rejoin society. Adding to his list of risky, demanding roles Josh Lucas is riveting, ably supported by James Cromwell as the old sea dog and Ayelet Zurer as the waitress.

TRAILER

USA 2011, 82 min. Written by Peter Vanderwall. Photographed by Elliot Davis. With Josh Lucas, James Cromwell, Ayelet Zurer. Abramorama.
Tickets $9 for SFFS members, $11 general, $10 senior/student/disabled. Box office now open online at sffs.org and in person at SF Film Society Cinema.