The Waterline

Directed by Luke Worrall

2026

I really know how to pick what reviews I take on after the Midlands Movies Awards have finished. Following on my piece on Eulogy, we have another film about a family coming to terms with loss, and the impact that grieving has on the people around you.

But one of the reasons I wanted to revisit Luke Worrall’s The Waterline is Tessa Wood’s win for Best Actress. It was truly a highlight of the night, with the crowd giving an established, well-deserving actress a standing ovation as she received her first-ever award. (NB: click here to watch the speech on Midlands Movies' YouTube channel)

The film really does rely on her as well, as it is primarily a two-hander between Wood, as Sarah, and Hayden Coward, who plays her son, Mark. Both are excellent in this, dealing with the heavy topics of depression and grief. Sarah has not been the same since her husband died, and Mark, despite always being closer to his mother, is now struggling to maintain the support she requires.

Endless appointments, days and evenings spent caring for Sarah, when, in their hearts, they both know that she is physically capable of looking after herself. Her mental condition starts to wear on Mark, who’s darkest thoughts threaten to creep out.

It’s likely the film will lose some people here. Worrall doesn’t hold back when depicting these dark thoughts. One such rounds out the cold open, although it’s a later one that arguably pushes a little too far. It’s not that these thoughts aren’t valid. That the struggle of Mark isn’t valid. But these moments do clash with the rest of the film.

Those who can push past these brief scenes will find a film that deftly handles its subject matter. Worrall’s script doesn’t beat around the bush. It is direct with what the characters are going through, realistically portraying a relationship that has being strained by months, possibly years, of struggle.

Personally – and I will admit to this critique being a nitpick – I would have dropped the last scene, which seems more definite about Sarah’s road to recovery. I think the café scene at the half-way point, where the pair have a giggle but everything is still ambiguous would have been a far more representative of the up and down struggle of depression.

★★★

3.5 / 5

Matthew Tilt

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