The Salt Path: Movie Review

Cast: Jason Isaacs, Gillian Anderson, Hermione Norris, James Lance
Director: Marianne Elliott

The road to personal redemption is a well-worn cliché in movies about travellers, whether they're solo or with others.

The Salt Path is in many ways no exception to the rule, but what it does do in this two hour film by Marianne Elliott is have you engage deeply with its two protagonists – even if very little actually happens throughout in terms of narrative.

But another cliché – that it's about the journey, not the destination – also proves to be pertinent here.

The White Lotus' Jason Isaacs and The X-Files Gillian Anderson play married couple Moth and Raynor, who, as the film begins, are caught in waters overwhelming their tent and scrabbling desperately to safety. While the film's in no immediate hurry to reveal the reason for this would-be disaster until its last 30 minutes is indicative of what Elliott and her understated cast are upto here.

The pair have decided to walk the UK's longest National Trail, the South West Coast Path for reasons that come throughout the film. It's not to spoil them here, merely that revealing their reasons for doing so thwarts the somewhat minimalist drama on display throughout.

As they walk, Moth with his foot dragging behind him, they seem woefully underprepared for the magnitude of what lies ahead. But what transpires on the route is the traditional kindness of strangers, forced through interactions with those along the way.

Elliott's film spends large swathes of time taking in the atmospherics of the trail. Whether it's the howling winds, the squawking birds or the beleaguered grunts of those unhappy at them pitching their tent anywhere they want, the soundtrack's naturalistic edges prove to be deeply immersive.

And Isaacs and Anderson are both at their muted best, with moments of connection provided by minimal, yet universally recognisable, interactions. These are not showy performances, with actors playing to the winds and wilds and overdramatising their moments. This is a film that's about the small moments of life, the brief connections along the way.

Don't expect a drama that builds deep worlds outside of Moth and Raynor (even if the book the film's based on did), this is a quiet film that packs a resonance that grows with time spent with the pair and their unfolding story.