Behind this morose mystery, The Bay of Silence, the real enigma is how the script made it happen from page to screen. The plot is essentially two distinct films smashed together, like puzzle pieces that barely fit, with a revelation so weak that an episode of Law & Order would not qualify.

It is a complete yawn that makes you wonder what kind of bet the great Brian Cox lost to participate in it. The protagonist of the film is Will (Claes Bang of The Burnt Orange Heresy), who helplessly watches his wife, Rosalind (Olga Kurylenko of Oblivion) fall from a one-story balcony.

She is pregnant and has their son prematurely. This seemingly causes a domino effect of issues for the family. She is suffering from postpartum depression and has become despondent one minute, wildly erratic the next.

She then leaves, taking her two daughters and Will’s infant son with her. His father-in-law, Milton (Cox), tells him not to worry, she will come back when she’s ready. Will doesn’t listen and tracks her back to her childhood home. There, he finds his infant son dead and his wife hiding in an attic of a run-down house looking over a bay (the silent one, remember).

Veteran actress Caroline Goodall's script (Survive, Hook) is adapted from a novel of the same name by Lisa St Aubin de Terán. Simply put, it's a complicated mess that has a tougher time than a simple game of dots and boxes connecting the story. The film is essentially two distinct film ideas that attempt to stitch together clumsily.

Thinly veiled are the protagonists. Their motives are at best half-witted. Finally, it seems that the discovery of the dead child is an unplausible McGuffin whose sole intention is to connect two separate stories that don't fit together.

Most have walked away asking what the meaning of that was at all; it really has nothing to do with the history of Rosalind; the narrative reality is so badly conveyed to the audience.

In some explicitly dark films of late, Bang found himself having an ugly habit of being almost mind-numbingly dull. His turn in the frustratingly bland The Light Orange Heresy earlier this year looks vivid in contrast.
 


It’s almost shocking how inept The Bay of Silence is; especially when you consider it came from Zus & Zo director Paula van der Oest. This is one the most misguided #MeToo movement thrillers made this decade. Bay is a Lifetime movie with twists you can watch for free weekly every Saturday night without the charm. Toss this film back into the bay from where it came from.