Archipelago review

A quiet family weekend away becomes a claustrophobic melting pot in Joanna Hogg's tense drama

Reviews
By published

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

British writer/director Joanna Hogg follows her debut Unrelated with another insightful, impressively acted study of upper-middle-class family friction.

Patricia (Kate Fahy) and her two adult children, Cynthia and Edward (Tom Hiddleston, Lydia Leonard) rent a secluded cottage, where tensions brew as they await the father’s arrival.

In long, static takes, Hogg calmly exposes the gulf between polite facades and repressed resentments.

The final act fizzles, but then nothing could top the funny/cringey restaurant scene where Lydia loses it over the under-cooking of her guinea fowl.

Tom Dawson
Latest in Comedy Movies
John Cena in Barbie
John Cena comedy Coyote Vs. Acme might come out after all, over a year after it was controversially shelved
Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2
29 years later, Happy Gilmore 2 trailer sees Adam Sandler return to the course with familiar faces – and confirms release date
Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, and Michael Cera in Superbad
Seth Rogen says Sony wouldn't let Jonah Hill use a PlayStation in Superbad as his character was too "reprehensible": "They're like, 'We can't have him interact with our products'"
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in Freakier Friday
Freaky Friday 2 trailer promises more body-swap hilarity from Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in long-awaited sequel
Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice 2 star Jenna Ortega would love to star in another classic horror comedy franchise: Gremlins
This is Spinal Tap
First Spinal Tap 2 teaser reveals release date for comedy sequel that’s over 40 years in the making
Latest in Reviews
Razer Monitor Stand Chroma on desk with blue lighting reflecting off surface and Alienware gaming monitor on top.
Razer Monitor Stand Chroma review: “a pretty but flawed premium RGB riser for your gaming desk”
Image of the Corsair Virtuoso Max wireless headset sitting on top of a gaming PC case taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe.
Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless review - a PC headset tour de force
Zombicide box featuring stylized art of survivors fighting zombies
Zombicide 2nd Edition review: "Like a zombie flick brought to tabletop"
Razer Handheld Dock with Steam Deck sitting on cradle, pink and yellow RGB lighting on, and Alienware monitor in background with Tomb Raider Trilogy gameplay on screen.
Razer Handheld Dock review: “Your Steam Deck will ride shiny and Chroma"
Photographs of the Agricola board game in play
Agricola review: "Accurate representation of the highly competitive and often unstable world of agriculture"
Photos taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe of the Shure MV7i microphone, within a pink and white themed room.
Shure MV7i review - convenience and excellence rolled into one superb sounding package
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots

The surprise theme of today's Nintendo Direct was classic PlayStation franchises getting a comeback without Sony's involvement
Patrick Stewart as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

The classic Fox X-Men are returning in Avengers: Doomsday, and I've got a really bad feeling about this
Hogwarts Legacy how many spells

Unannounced Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled, partly because the studio wasn't sure it'd be worth players' money
See more latest
Most Popular
Razer Monitor Stand Chroma on desk with blue lighting reflecting off surface and Alienware gaming monitor on top.
Razer Monitor Stand Chroma review: “a pretty but flawed premium RGB riser for your gaming desk”
A Terminator charges out of a Spartan tank.
Horus Heresy 2nd Edition starter set review: "Bigger and messier than 40K, but it's also more immersive"
Image of the Corsair Virtuoso Max wireless headset sitting on top of a gaming PC case taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe.
Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless review - a PC headset tour de force
Zombicide box featuring stylized art of survivors fighting zombies
Zombicide 2nd Edition review: "Like a zombie flick brought to tabletop"
Razer Handheld Dock with Steam Deck sitting on cradle, pink and yellow RGB lighting on, and Alienware monitor in background with Tomb Raider Trilogy gameplay on screen.
Razer Handheld Dock review: “Your Steam Deck will ride shiny and Chroma"
Photographs of the Agricola board game in play
Agricola review: "Accurate representation of the highly competitive and often unstable world of agriculture"
Photos taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe of the Shure MV7i microphone, within a pink and white themed room.
Shure MV7i review - convenience and excellence rolled into one superb sounding package
Key art for Atomfall showing a character in the English countryside looking at a nuclear plant some distance away
Atomfall review: "This isn't British Fallout – it's something much better than that"
A woman chasing a shining butterfly with a leaping cat on her shoulder in InZOI
inZOI review: "Currently feels like a soulless imitation of the worst parts of The Sims"
Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro 75% gaming keyboard with purple RGB lighting on a desk setup
Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro 75% review: "a niche luxury"