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‘Islands’ Review: Sam Riley Experiences ‘L’Avventura’ of a Lifetime in Soul-Searching European Thriller
The appearance of a woman from his past and the subsequent disappearance of her husband force a beach-bum tennis coach to confront the mystery of what he’s hiding from.
German director Jan-Ole Gerster ’s mesmerizing, mostly English-language “ Islands ” opens with a scene that for many would mark “rock bottom” — reason to check oneself into rehab — as Sam Riley ’s Tom awakens in a field of sand dunes. Gerster and co-writers Blaž Kutin and Lawrie Doran give us just enough details to construct a picture of someone who goes with the flow, doing drugs when offered, falling into bed with the revolving door of young visitors and showing up late to his morning lessons, just sober enough to repeat the routine. Taking maximum advantage of the ultra-wide Cinemascope aspect ratio to drive that idea home, Gerster’s film isn’t nearly so oblique or inscrutable as the Italian master’s, though it leaves plenty up to interpretation and proves wonderfully open-ended.
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