Calibre (film)

Calibre is a 2018 British psychological thriller film written and directed by Matt Palmer. After a debut at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, it was released on 29 June 2018 on Netflix. It also had a limited release in select Curzon Cinemas in the UK from 21 October to 16 November 2018. The film stars Jack Lowden and Martin McCann, two hunters who are embroiled in a traumatising incident while on a hunting trip in the Scottish highlands and must escape the local village without arousing suspicion. The film received critical acclaim.

Plot
An Edinburgh businessman, Marcus, takes his childhood friend, Vaughn, whose fiancée is newly pregnant, on a weekend hunting in the Scottish Highlands. They spend the evening at a village pub, where they meet Logan, a community leader; and two young women, Kara and Iona. After dancing and drinking, Marcus leaves with Kara, despite being warned to stay away. Vaughn and Iona nearly kiss but Vaughn mentions his pregnant fiancée.

Early next morning, Marcus wakes up a hungover Vaughn for their hunt. Vaughn realises he has forgotten ammunition for his rifle, so Marcus lets him borrow one of his guns, despite this violating the strict firearm laws. On the hunt, the pair happen upon a deer. Vaughn aims at its head; but it suddenly turns, causing Vaughn to shoot and kill a boy, unseen behind the deer. The boy's father arrives and, in a fit of grief, picks up Vaughn's gun and points it at him; but Marcus shoots the man. Vaughn wants to tell the police about the incident but Marcus convinces him they will be arrested as murderers. Marcus hides the bodies and they drive off, hoping to claim that they were hunting in another area. However, Marcus is told by a petrol station owner that Logan said no other hunters are around and convinces a traumatised Vaughn they can only protect themselves by returning after nightfall and burying the bodies.

They return to the village and are invited to dinner by Logan, who asks if Marcus can help him find investors who might revitalise the community. At night, they bury the bodies. Marcus recovers the bullets, using a knife to dig Vaughn's bullet out of the boy's skull. The next day, their escape from the village is postponed when Brian, one of Logan's brothers, slashes their tires and attacks Marcus for sleeping with Kara and giving her cocaine. At the garage, the mechanic tells Marcus the repairs will take a day. Vaughn speaks to Logan's cousin Al and realizes the deceased were Logan's nephew and brother-in-law. Al's suspicions are raised when Marcus, upon returning, asks about "them" despite having only heard that Logan's nephew was missing.

Logan asks them to help with the search, which they accept for fear of arousing suspicion. A dog leads the party to the bodies. While the group digs them up, Marcus and Vaughn attempt to flee, but their fuel tank is ruptured by a bullet from Brian. Fleeing on foot, Vaughn stumbles and is injured by the dog, which Marcus stabs to death. As the group closes in, Marcus leaves Vaughn who is captured and taken to a farm, where he confesses. As Brian moves to kill Vaughn, Logan stops him as they hear the group has caught Marcus.

The next morning, Logan gives Vaughn an ultimatum: he must either kill Marcus, or Brian will kill them both. Vaughn initially refuses, even after being reminded of his fiancée and unborn child, and breaks down in tears. Eventually, at gunpoint, he kills Marcus. Before Vaughn's fiancée arrives, Logan goes over the cover story with Vaughn, instructing him to tell the police that Marcus drove north and his relatives disappeared.

Months later, Vaughan's fiancée turns on the bedside light to find him awake, sitting in a chair in the dark. She asks if he's okay. He says he's fine, despite clearly being far from it. They hear the baby start to cry. Vaughn gets up and goes to comfort his crying child, staring into the distance with a haunted look.

Cast

 * Jack Lowden as Vaughn
 * Martin McCann as Marcus
 * Tony Curran as Logan McClay
 * Ian Pirie as Brian McClay
 * Kate Bracken as Iona
 * Kitty Lovett as Kara
 * Cal MacAninch as Al McClay
 * Cameron Jack as Frank McClay
 * Donald McLeary as Grant McClay

Production
The film was nine years in the making, and began filming in November 2016.

In May 2018, it was reported that Calibre had been picked up by Netflix for distribution and would first world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Release
Calibre premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 22 June 2018. Following success at the festival, the film was released worldwide on 29 June 2018 by Netflix. It also had a limited release in select Curzon Cinemas in the UK from 21 October to 16 November 2018.

Critical response
Calibre has received positive reviews and is critically acclaimed. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on  reviews, with an average rating of. Metacritic gives the film a weighted average rating of 76 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Guy Lodge of Variety called the film "a sensationally well-executed nerve-mangler", and gave high praise to "the level of craft and confidence on display in all aspects of Calibre, from [Matt] Palmer's clean, lean scripting to Márk Györi's baleful, autumn-chill camerawork to a lead performance of through-the-wringer commitment by rising Scots star Jack Lowden." Neil Young of The Hollywood Reporter noted that "a mature social concern about the plight of remote, economically marginal but tightly knit communities, gives Calibre a pungent, intriguing layer of ambiguity that only sharpens the acute pain of the awful events so skillfully depicted. Both Ken Loach and Wes Craven would surely approve." Catherine Renton of The Edinburgh Reporter concluded a very positive review of the film by claiming "I was exhausted but exhilarated after a taut 100 minutes of drama, and I can't wait to do it all again..."