1993 Directed by Peter Markham
For a young couple, the small cottage tucked away in a quiet village in the mountains of north Wales, a legacy from a distant, estranged uncle, is a dream come true. The one condition of the inheritance is that they keep the uncle's beloved pet cormorant. They soon discover, however, that the cormorant is no mere bird, but a foul and malignant creature that may exact a greater price than they are willing to pay. Filmed as part of the BBC series, "Screen Two".
Screen Two: The Cormorant, Der Todesvogel
UK
UK
It’s a bit overwritten and directed at times, but there is something gorgeous about this: a stark supernaturally tinged story about obsession and memory and the landscape. That landscape is the stark Wales of R S Thomas and the cormorant itself is entirely the wildlife of Ted Hughes. Fiennes sells the obsessive streak well, the rest of the cast give him enough space to indulge in it and are all uniformly great save for the fucking child who should have had his face pecked off in the first ten minutes
an unsettling horror. ralph fiennes inherits a feral bird that comes with a shitty cottage in wales and this bird is either evil or the reincarnation of his dead uncle, and it has a strange effect on ralph + his weird little family. there's also a chance the cormorant just doesn't like being cooped up or taken for sea walks on a leash. ralph slowly becomes obsessed and unhinged like it's The Shining, but with sexual undertones. it's a good performance!
Schindler's List came out later that year, so obviously everyone forgot all about The Cormorant. would be nice if these lesser known bbc ‘screen two’ telefilms were easier to find. i had to join the public library and download hoopla (??) to my tv to gain access, so it'll probably continue to live on in obscurity and have no impact whatsoever.
Ralph Fiennes's soliloquy delivered to his feathered co-star is the stuff of sizzle reels. Well, not really. However, this sometimes stilted BBC TV movie does achieves a decent eerie atmosphere. But seriously, its a pretty funny speech, considering he, in part, explains to the bird why they can never be lovers.
I half-watched this and I don't know if I would discover it was weirder or more logical if I had paid complete attention.
