Capsized, director Lindsey Ryan’s first feature-length outing is another frontrunner for the 2026 Main Competition with its eyes on the Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence.
Set in 2014, amidst the ongoing ripples of the American recession and the ensuing housing crisis, it’s a turbulent tale of a topsy-turvy family whose problematic patriarch, Ray, played by Rhys Ifans, packs the whole clan into his houseboat when faced with an eviction notice.
Despite Ray pitching their impromptu voyage as a rip-roaring family adventure, the trip is much more of an escape than a holiday. Crucially, Ray makes every effort to cover up the family’s dire circumstances, even from the kids, a sticky scenario that he unwittingly leaves his long-suffering wife Diane (Lily Rabe) complicit in.
Rabe and Ryan both get a lot out of the precarious position that Diane finds herself in, more so as a mother than as a wife, with the former really lifting the film to a whole other level. I had the chance to speak to Ryan herself who was blown away by ‘[Rabe]’s ability to convey so much pathos with just one look’, which I can certainly vouch for, too, especially in one pivotal, brilliant scene.
‘The O’Briens don’t adhere to time; they adhere to adventure!’
I must admit, I was much more aware of Ifans’ involvement going into this than Rabe’s – I still know him best as The Lizard from The Amazing Spider-Man and was surprised to see him with both of his arms here – but I was stunned by Rabe’s performance. This really is her picture.
‘This isn’t always the case, but a lot of the time there’s this really troubled dynamic between, I think, marriages of how women allow themselves to be treated and the things that they put up with because they were taught to’ remarked Ryan,
‘And I think that really bugged me and that sort of inspired that idea of…to what point?’ That question of pushing a mother to the edge looms large here – put simply, Ryan described the film as ‘a big feminist brain dump’ – but it’s a remarkably fun watch despite the weightiness of that conflict.
While their characters’ relationship is strained to say the least, Ifans and Rabe have fantastic chemistry, the push and pull of their dynamic driving the ship forward with skilful dexterity. Their marriage may well have gone straight past the becalmed stage and into stormy seas, but rather than consistently undercutting their rapport with 70s-style ‘I hate my wife’ jokes, they both have a twinkle with each other in brief moments that allows an inkling of their past romance to shine through.
While Ray is a tricky character, especially on paper, the film never fully condemns him, which not only adds to the natural humour and charm that Ifans brings to the character but the realism at play amidst the story’s comedic trappings. So many films over-crank their characters’ limitations and allow them to become moustache-twirling, cartoon villains rather than feeling like real, fallible yet not completely unsalvageable people.
Ryan clearly understands the value of ensuring that, whatever happens, the audience is able to preserve a connection to one of the film’s central characters, because as soon as you lose that sympathy, it’s all too easy to check out of their personal journey. ‘Rhys and I spent so much time speaking about Ray’ said Ryan, ‘because he is complicated and I think it could have been captured really wrong – he could be very one note’. Those conversations shine through in the finished film, which draws a confident line between what makes someone a bad husband and what could lead to them becoming a bad man. One does not necessarily lead to the other, in fact Ryan herself describes Ray as ‘a very loveable, troubled patriarch’.
That detail in Ray’s characterisation gives way to tension and laughter in just about equal amounts. His mood swings are unpredictable, but a masculine determination to provide for his children and save the day remains consistent throughout. He’s always trying to hoodwink his way out of the situation with a charismatic handshake and a quick and easy deal, whether it’s a loan between (relative) friends or a bargain for a place to moor the boat for a night.
Interestingly, it’s evident that some of that spirit and determination has trickled down to the next generation of O’Briens, as well, with The White Lotus’ Sarah Catherine Hook playing a sizeable role as Nicole. One half of a set of twins, she’s the joint-eldest of the kids, stressed out of her mind on the cusp of leaving for college.
She’s something of an unofficial protégé to her father – usually putting more of a graft in on the boat than anyone else – and Hook and Ryan work in tandem to incorporate a sense of children picking the best aspects of their parents to try and take a better stab at their own lives, especially hanging on the precipice of adulthood and pastures green. The moments where this idea comes to the forefront are some of Capsized’s best, especially when they complement Nicole’s own voyage of discovery as she realises who she wants to be going forward.
To that end, setting the story in the bygone age of 2014, a year of ice bucket challenges and the Brazil World Cup, was key. ‘I liked this idea of pre-social media, pre-information being available at your fingertips’ the director explained, ‘because I think that at that time, this sort of vernacular around relationships […] wasn’t available to us then and I think having the movie set in a time that felt timeless and felt of a time where you couldn’t necessarily figure out what this person is and give yourself a definition that might help you make sense of things was really important to me. Because you’re live watching all of the characters figure that out for themselves, and I think that for me was a really powerful thing and really the whole impetus of the movie.’
The result is a film that manages to be laugh-out loud funny at times while also presenting a complex and captivating dynamic between the O’Briens, especially involving Ray’s changeable nature and Diane’s own struggles as to what to do next. It’s a bit like Little Miss Sunshine meets Jaws – a hybrid of influences that’ll only fully become clear when you have the chance to see the picture yourself – but it’s a testament to the strength of this feature length debut from Ryan that the film manages to hold water amidst comparisons to such prestigious company. This is one of EIFF’s best this year.
This film has an age rating of 15.
Capsized is showing at EIFF 17th/18th August.
