The Holding   Starring: Kierston Wareing, Vincent Regan and David Bradley Lions Gate Home Entertainment RRP: £15.99 LGD94421 Certificate: 15 Available 12 September 2011

Struggling to keep her home and farm going, Cassie Naylor also struggles with the terrible secret, that eight month previously she had killed her husband who was abusing one of their daughters. Alone life is a struggle for Cassie, until a drifter appears willing to help the family. At first Cassie is resistant to the thought of another man in her life, she slowly falls for Aden’s charms, but even the greatest evil can wear a pleasant face...

The Holding (2011 - 1 hr. 29 min 01 sec) is an independently made thriller, directed by Susan Jacobson from a James Dormer script.

The film is the type of independent film which the British seem to do so well. Although the cast is small, and, for the most part, the action takes place in a single location, the quality of the acting and direction more than makes up for the budget limitations.

There is much that is derivative in the film and the concept of transposing a western to the English countryside doesn’t work as well as it should, the film is honestly made. Jacobson does what she can to give the movie a filmic quality, though in truth it exists somewhere between a full film and a made for television movie.

The film is about secrets and how far people will go to protect them and the things that they love. Cassie (Kierston Wareing) holds the secret of killing her husband, Dean, after she discovered that he was sexually abusing their sixteen year old daughter, Hannah (Skye Lourie), who has kept the abuse secret. The last member of the family, Amy (Maisie Lloyd), keeps the biggest secret as eight months ago she witnessed her father’s murder by her mother. When Aden appears and seems to offer some hope for the family and girls, he too holds a secret, for far from being a friend of Dean's, he is a deeply disturbed man who has suffered a history of physical and sexual abuse.

The disc is presented with a widescreen presentation, coupled with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track and subtitles for the hard of hearing. Extras kick off with The Making of The Holding (10 min, 28 sec) which provides a pitstop tour of how the film came to be made. There are a number of deleted scenes (10 min, 05 sec), which add little to the finished film and seem to have been cut for pace and time, as most are pretty short.

One Hundredth of a Second (5 min, 24 sec) is a short film, written and directed by Susan Jacobson, which tells the story of the personal price a photojournalist has to pay for her big scoop. It's short but powerful. The disc is wrapped up with a Photo Gallery.

If you’re a fan of independent British film, then there is much to like about The Holding. Sure the third act descends into the realms of over the top bunny boiler revenge, but it’s reasonable given the film's basic premise. Certainly worth a look.

7

Charles Packer