THIS shattering British drama from debut feature writer-director Daniel Kokotajlo gives us a rare insight into the mostly unseen world of Jehovah’s Witnesses and examines what happens when devoted followers clash with those wavering in their faith, told through the story of one family in modern-day Oldham.

When Luisa (Sacha Parkinson) reveals that she is pregnant to her college boyfriend, her devout mother Ivanna (Siobhan Finneran) demands that they get married. But when Luisa refuses, Ivanna is forced to choose between her religion and her daughter. In the end, Luisa will be “disfellowshipped” from the faith.

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This leaves Ivanna’s other, younger daughter Alex (impressive relative newcomer Molly Wright) at first continuing to follow what’s expected of her (including not accepting blood-related hospital treatment) but soon finds her own faith tested as her sister’s pregnancy and distance from the family progresses.

Kokotajlo shows great promise with this powerful piece of drama, one that’s simultaneously raw and nuanced, honest yet sensitive in its portrayal of difficult issues. The fact that he used to be a Jehovah’s Witness himself informs the sense of authenticity that permeates the drama.

He also has a real eye for striking imagery, conjuring haunting moments from the seemingly simplest of interactions and has the confidence to switch character focus, shrewdly leading you along one way and before you know it you’re seeing things from a different perspective. He utilises a sparse yet ominously droning score by Matthew Wilcock to give the drama an eerie, atmospheric quality that makes the weighty dialogue linger heavy in the air.

The narrative is intercut with title cards that quote the Bible that inform the story. “Throw your burden on Jehovah and he will sustain you,” reads one of the scripture quotations.

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But what do such words mean, however much someone like Ivanna lives her life by them, when it comes between her own flesh and blood? Finneran, a compelling stalwart of British TV drama, is terrific and utterly convincing in conveying that impossible anguish.

The film is a strange companion piece to both Martin Scorsese’s Silence and Paul Schrader’s recent First Reformed, dealing in an analogous but uniquely haunting way the impact of religious dedication in real-world terms and what it means when someone either staunchly sticks to it no matter what or feel themselves falling away from it. This is a quietly devastated drama spoken with a fresh, intriguing cinematic voice.