Islands (dir. Jan-Ole Gerster)
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 120 mins
UK Distributor: BFI
UK Release Date: 12 September 2025
WHO’S IN ISLANDS?
Sam Riley, Stacy Martin, Jack Farthing, Dylan Torrell, Fatima Adoum, Agnes Lindström Bolmgren, Bruna Cusí, Pep Ambròs, Maya Unger, Ahmed Boulane, Fernando Navas, Irene Ferarios
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Jan-Ole Gerster (director, writer), Lawrie Doran and Blaz Kutin (writers), Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo (producers), Dascha Dauenhauer (composer), Juan Sarmiento G. (cinematographer), Antje Zynga (editor)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A washed-up tennis coach (Riley) develops a bond with a family on holiday…
WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON ISLANDS?
The very first shot of filmmaker Jan-Ole Gerster’s Islands is of a man lying face down in the middle of a sandy mini-desert as the morning sun slowly creeps up. A humorous image, sure, but also one of deep sadness, for as we’re about to find out that man is not only our protagonist, and a rather pitiful one at that, but is also trapped in such an endless cycle of self-destruction that waking up in the dunes might actually be one of the more pleasant outcomes he’s had.
It’s little wonder that him waking up becomes a recurring motif throughout the rest of the film, whether it’s on a pool lounger or in a rubbish hotel room, because Gerster is keen to show how this guy resets every single day as either the irresponsible drifter he’s become or, as events come to show in this quietly gripping character drama, someone yearning for connection and responsibility in a world that’s practically discarded him.
Our protagonist is Tom (Sam Riley), who was once a promising tennis prodigy but, after a career-ending injury, now spends his days at a family resort in Fuerteventura teaching the holidaying tourists the basic moves, whilst at night hitting the clubs hard with drink and drugs to fuel his lifestyle (hence the embarrassing wake-up calls). One day, he’s approached by a woman named Anne (Stacy Martin), who’s staying at the hotel with her husband Dave (Jack Farthing) and their young son Anton (Dylan Torrell), to ask if he can give Anton some private lessons, which soon leads to Tom befriending the family and taking them on further excursions around the island, all while getting a close-up view of the couple’s relationship which, to put it mildly, isn’t great. Things come to a head when Dave suddenly goes missing, and as Tom assists Anne in the search, certain revelations float to the surface that cause him to second-guess the intentions of the people he’s grown close to, as well as how he may be more connected to them than he first thought.
Though the latter details may suggest that this is more of a Patricia Highsmith-style psychological thriller, Islands is thoroughly about the endless cycle of loneliness, and how each of these main characters are themselves islands who, in their own ways, have become detached from each other as well as the wider world. Tom, as mentioned earlier, drowns himself in a hard-partying lifestyle whilst robotically serving tennis balls to tourists hours later, with his only true point of contact being a kindly Moroccan couple who are about to close up their camel farm and move back home, leaving him even more on his own than he already was. But while he is a clearer-cut case of self-inflicted isolation, Anne and Dave provide a more complex example as they are together yet continents apart at the same time, trapped in a marriage of resentment and nonchalance with only their child in common, and they express this in moments of calculated vulnerability as their inhibitions are withered in the Fuerteventura sunshine alongside their unlikely new companion, who provides an even less likely set of ears for their arrested development.
Gerster, a German-born filmmaker making his English-language debut, pays close attention to how these characters and their unique feelings of alienation intersect over the course of the film, often in scenes where certain things are left entirely unsaid or not even explicitly hinted at. This is a film that refuses to spell out its most striking revelations, at least in the form of dialogue, with a simple close-up of a person’s expressive face providing all the necessary subtext from seemingly basic information, allowing the viewer to piece together the sudden responsibilities and past regrets that could drive someone further into isolation if they so desired. It creates a narrative that you’re keen to see play out until the final moments, filled with striking cinematography that adds a sense of unease to the impossibly beautiful sun-soaked paradise, as well as performances from great actors like Sam Riley and Stacy Martin who do wonders with saying very little and holding their deck of cards so close to their chests that they’re practically embedded within their skin.
But once it reaches a certain point, you can feel the effects starting to wear off. At two hours exactly, it is at least fifteen or twenty minutes overlong, with slightly repetitive scenes that feature moments which could easily be framed as a near-perfect final shot, only to then hard-cut to black at the most awkward moment, even if it fits the overall nature of the story. It could easily be trimmed down to a leaner 90 or 100-minute movie without losing much of the point that it’s trying to make, but Gerster keeps prodding at the central themes even after the message has been fully conveyed, causing the film to sputter after running for a good long while at a pretty intriguing pace.
Even then, it’s never as though Islands completely drops the ball, for it just about retains a strong sense of mystery that makes certain turns a little more unpredictable, and most of all presents a set of interesting characters who are well-written and well-performed for you to see what may be going on underneath their rough surfaces. It certainly has a tendency to lag, especially in its final stretch, but there’s more than enough to provide a solid character-centric thriller that explores the depths of loneliness to soulful and occasionally profound degrees.
Not to mention, it carries the saddest use of Coco Pops in a movie ever.
SO, TO SUM UP…
Islands is an intriguing study of loneliness among a number of characters whose subtle expressions are well-crated by filmmaker Jan-Ole Gerster and well-performed by a strong cast, even though it stretches the message too wide in an overlong runtime.
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