Soon, the young woman is off on her own with her son, taking refuge in a shelter as she contemplates her next steps. Along the way she bonds with another young mother on her way to an island commune to start life over. When their shelter is violently raided, the young mothers decide to travel to the commune together. Their journey is harrowing, bonding them into a makeshift family. And for a moment, the future looks bright.
The script, written by Alice Birch, takes a spare approach to conversation, reminding us of the story’s novelistic roots. Few characters are addressed by name, adding to the naturalism of their situation; we are often seeing intimate moments, where names would organically be left out. Identity itself barely matters in the world they’re in.