I watched The Incomer and now I want to go to Scotland
When I saw a trailer for The Incomer I was immediately interested, mainly because Domhnall Gleeson stars in it and I have a soft spot for him ever since I saw About Time (2013). In case you haven’t seen it, go watch it. It is the best feelgood movie of all time. But that’s not what I’m here to write about.
The Incomer is a very different movie. It is set on a Scottish Isle where no one lives except for a brother and a sister who have only ever known island life. Then, the Northeastern Scottish Council decides they are not allowed to live there and they send Daniel to bring them to the mainland. The bossy sister Isla and the burly but naive brother Sandy don’t want to leave and hate/fear the mainland and its people. Daniel has a hard time convincing them, since he is just an office clerk who happens to be really into Lord of the Rings.
The film is very funny, pretty absurd but I would still classify it as a feelgood film. Although the characters are a bit out there, I could still find something relatable in every one of them. At the beginning of the story the islanders and Daniel fear each other, but later in the film it becomes clear that this fear goes together with a deep desire. Isla and Sandy represent Daniel's desire for freedom and weirdness and being yourself without being judged. The other way around Daniel stands for the desire for connection and friendship, which the siblings miss since they’ve only ever known each other. As a viewer, I felt all these desires while watching the film and a few days later I’m still thinking about it.
My husband and I have been discussing where our next holiday should be and Scotland has been on our list for a while. After watching The Incomer I want to go even more.