This film was watched at a Manchester International Film Festival Virtual Screening.

Gritty family drama THE CATCH is firmly rooted in a distinct sense of place. The plot steadily drifts but the raw emotionality frequently spills over in this tale of a woman (Katia Winter) returning home to her estranged family in Maine carrying with her trauma and secrets. The lobstermen drug smuggling subplot is a weird match for the low-key dramatic elements and results in some dramatic contrivance in the final act. Writer-director Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer’s film struggles to rise beyond a certain level, but he’s a promising talent and it’s all very well filmed and performed. The past few years have seen a glut of heavy farming dramas so perhaps this is a sign of an incoming wave of the coastal equivalent on the way. SSP