Director: Daniel Barber

Cast: Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, Muna Otaru, Sam Worthington, Kyle Soller

Running time: 95 minutes

Certificate: TBC

Synopsis: Left without men in the dying days of the American Civil War, three Southern women – two sisters and one African-American slave – must fight to defend their home and themselves from two rogue soldiers who have broken off from the fast-approaching Union Army.

Protection, survival and gunmanship are the name of the game in Daniel Barber’s taut Civil War drama THE KEEPING ROOM.

Augusta (Brit Marling) and Louise (Hailee Steinfeld) are sisters doing it for themselves deep in the heat of the American South. There’s not a whole lot to do other than tend crops and wander about the woods though; the land around them is abandoned and all the men have left to fight in the Civil War, including their father and brother. Alongside the family’s African American slave, Maud (Muna Otaru), the girls live in a constant state of fear with guns as their accessories of choice. Elder sister Augusta has taken on the role of protector, prowling the woods for danger and intruders, and when Louise is bitten by a racoon her elder sister must travel to try and locate medicine. Her encounter along the way with drunken Yankee soldiers Sam Worthington and Kyle Soller sets up the remainder of the plot as the two come to the house in search of their new-found fresh meat.

A bleak and unflinching tale of war from a women’s perspective is a welcome change to the usual battle adventures thrown at us by Hollywood studios and writer Julie Hart has kept a tight story, quick pace and dialogue sparse. By doing so, the focus is dedicated to the performances and the remote and cruel location – itself another character within the film. The contrast of the dull passing of each day as we first meet the trio ups the ante when the predators arrive and it’s a chilling and suspenseful ride to the finish.

Brit Marling is the stand out star as the uncompromising and fearless Augusta, who will do whatever it takes to protect her sister and her home, Sam Worthington also puts in a fine performance as a Yankee soldier caught in circumstances that force him into a role he isn’t meant for. Director Daniel Barber won an Oscar in 2008 for his first short, THE TONTO WOMAN, and continues his impressive female-led storytelling here. THE KEEPING ROOM is an explosive and gritty dramatic success.

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