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Filmmaker Louis Paxton wanted The Incomer to work as a comedy, but he also wasn’t interested in staying in one creative lane. Set on a remote Scottish island, the 102-minute narrative also has a nuanced level of humanity that doesn’t devolve into saccharine storytelling. Paxton talked to Deepest Dream about The Incomer, a first rate tale that hits theaters September 25.
Read more: Louis Paxton Talks Finding Dark And Comedic Layers Of Scottish Feature ‘The Incomer’
The Incomer centers on Isla (Gayle Rankin) and Sandy (Grant O’Rourke), siblings who have lived on a remote island for over 30 years sans their parents. Their father taught them to be wary of visitors and deem that as a threat. Domhnall Gleeson is Daniel, a by the books official who is tasked with having them evacuate the land. Initially wary of Daniel’s presence, the siblings gradually trust this stranger and may even make him their friend.
Amidst all the comedy and awkward interactions among the three, there is a ton of emotional growth needed from all parties. “There’s something I find very fascinating about that kind of arrested development and that idea of being an adult and being a child,” said Paxton, who won the NEXT Innovator Award at the Sundance Film Festival. “There’s also something I find tonally really interesting about things that are quite sweet and kind of innocent, but then also there’s, like, an edge to them.”
Early Tim Burton films were an influence, along with John Waters’ seminal works Cry-Baby and Hairspray. These films may have an accessible exterior, but Paxton was attracted to their complex undertones.
“On the surface they’re family films, but actually underneath it there’s a real kind of complexity and often a sort of dark edge or a really kind of rebellious side to it,” said Paxton. “That was always in my mind when I was writing this and when I was working with everyone.”
Part of Louis Paxton’s storytelling developed during his youth, when he would explore the Orkney Isles. That sense of adventure and discovery shaped The Incomer.
“I was writing scenes based around locations that I’d found during my time up in Orkney in the north of Scotland,” said Paxton. “By the time it came to making the film, I felt like we’d figured a lot of it out. I had real world locations to draw upon and to shoot in when it actually came to it.”
Catch The Incomer, co-starring John Hannah and Michelle Gomez, in theaters starting September 25. Share your thoughts on the film in the comments!
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