For decades a backwater of production, these days, the Welsh film and TV industry is booming, thanks to a slew of high-profile successes in the last decade. Global brands such as the BBC’sDoctor WhoandHis Dark Materialsare made in the country’s capital city, Cardiff. Wales has also carved out a substantial niche for itself in the realm of thrillers and crime series, with bilingual Welsh-English crime procedurals such asHinterland/Y GwyllandKeeping Faith/Un Bore Merchermaking distinctive new contributions to the “Celtic noir” genre.
Given this background, it is hardly surprising that the burgeoning industry has caught the attention of Hollywood’s best and brightest. Aside from Ryan Reynolds' and Rob McElhenney’s hit FX docuseries about the fluctuating fortunesof Wrexham Football Club,Welcome To Wrexham(a second season is currently in production), actors such as Elijah Wood,Avengers: Endgamestar James D’Arcy, and Academy Award winner Judi Dench have all starred in Welsh-produced features in recent years.
The latest A-lister to go down the same route is Rebel Wilson, whoselatest film,The Almond and the Seahorse, was largely filmed in and around Wrexham and is due for release next month. Here’s what we know.
The Almond and the Seahorse: The Plot
Sarah is an archaeologist married to Joe, but two years ago, Joe had an accident that left him with chronic amnesia. Unable to recall events consistently, Joe’s injury results in violent mood swings. Meanwhile, Toni, an architect, is in a relationship with her partner, Gwen, who has also suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident and finds herself reliving the same period in her life over and over again.
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The two couples are brought together by Dr. Farmer, a specialist looking to discover more about Joe and Gwen’s conditions. As their stories unfold, their partners find they have more in common than they had thought possible. A thoughtful meditation on the issues of memory and loss,The Almond and the Seahorsepushes hard at the question of how those closest to traumatic brain injury patients cope with the chastened personal circumstances that chronic illness brings.
The Almond and the Seahorse: The Cast
For first-time directors, Celyn Jones and Tom Stern have gathered a very impressive array of acting talent. Playing against type in the lead role of Sarah is Rebel Wilson in her first dramatic role in the film. After the critical failures ofCats(2019), in which she starred as Jennyanydots, and comedy con artist filmThe Hustle(2019), in which she shared the lead with Anne Hathaway, Wilson enjoyed a return to form with the Netflix comedySenior Yearin the spring.
The role of Toni isplayed by Charlotte Gainsbourg. Gainsbourg has spent the last few years flitting between French cinema and the moreoutreareas of Hollywood, including turns in Reed Morano’s post-apocalyptic romanceI Think We’re Alone Now(2018) and last year’s French-language courtroom dramaThe Accusation. Her next film, the periodgothic horrorThe Pale Blue Eye, also stars Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Gillian Anderson, and Timothy Spall and premieres next month.
Toni’s amnesiac partner Gwen is played by Trine Dyrholm. A widely acclaimed actor in her native Denmark and a winner of the Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear for Best Actress, Dyrholm is on a career-high at present thanks to her sterling work in the lead role in last year’s medieval epic,Margrete: Queen of the Northopposite Søren Malling (Domino) and Magnus Krepper (The Girl Who Played With Fire).
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In supporting roles are Meera Syal (Yesterday,The Sandman); Alice Lowe (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace); Ruth Madeley (Brexit: The Uncivil War); and up-and-coming stage actor Patrick Elue in his first full-length screen role.
HelmingThe Almond and the Seahorseare the directors Celyn Jonesand Tom Stern. Jones got his big break opposite Kenneth Branagh in the 2002 Emmy-winning miniseriesShackleton, playing Perce Blackborow, the real-life Welsh sailor turned stowaway who accompanied the Arctic explorer on his ill-fated journey to Antarctica. Since then, Jones has segued into screenwriting; his most recent credit is the 2020 war spy dramaSix Minutes To MidnightalongsideDownton Abbeydirector Andy Goddard and Eddie Izzard.The Almond and the Seahorseis his feature debut, and Jones also co-stars opposite Wilson as Joe.
Tom Stern is an Academy Award-nominated cinematographer who is best known for his work on Clint Eastwood-directed films such asFlags Of Our Fathers,Gran Torino, andAmerican Sniper.His most recent project, this year’s martial arts comedyKung Fury 2, is currently in post-production, and Stern is presently beginning work onthe newLutherfilm.
Release Date
The Almond and the Seahorsegoes on limited release in theaters and on-demand streaming services on December 16. 2022.
