The Levelling is one of the most astounding films I have ever seen. It is not an easy film. It is dark, it is troubling, and it is not to be taken lightly. But good performances, skilful directing, and themes seldom broached in recent film-making render this a film that astounds on the first viewing, and lingers in the mind until the viewer buckles and sees it again.

“An acute picture of grief, mental collapse, and how we remember the dead”

The shadows of the dead move across the face of the film. Centring around a young vet (Clover, played with restrained perfection by Ellie Kendrick) and her return to a failing farm after her brother’s suicide, it deals with our reactions to death, and how we deal with their memory.

Set in the Somerset levels after the 2014 floods, The Levelling is an important treatment of rural life, an area of British society all too neglected by cinema. Most importantly, however, it is an acute picture of grief, mental collapse, and how we remember the dead - much of the film revolves around differing memories of the brother, a character who, while only seen in flashbacks, nonetheless occupies the film through the arguments and memories of his sister and father.

As the father, David Troughton dominates the film, flicking from fury to despair, painting a picture of a man who, having thrown up mental walls over decades, is consumed by his own horrors when those walls are knocked down by death. As a treatment of grief, mental breakdown, and how we relate to others when responding to a shared loss, The Levelling strikes one with its refreshing honesty.

Review: Ashen eloquence in 'Frantz'

It is a lean film. With a tight script, spare direction, and a relentless drive to the day of the funeral, it clutches one’s attention and amazement. It is honest, it is lean, and it is thought provoking. And I cannot recommend it highly enough