Released in UK cinemas from Friday 1st September is the low-budget British drama, And Then Come the Nightjars. The movie stars Nigel Hastings and David Fielder, and tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a Devon farmer and the vet who is tasked with culling his herd.
Set to the backdrop of the 2001 Foot and Mouth outbreak in the UK, the film is adapted for the screen by Bea Roberts, from her multi-award-winning stage play of the same name. Lead actors Hastings and Fielder reprise their roles from that very same play, with director Paul Robinson taking on directing duties in his feature-length directorial debut.
The film begins with an onscreen caption informing audiences that in February 2001, the first case of Foot and Mouth disease in three decades was discovered at an abattoir in Essex, England. Within two weeks the disease had spread across the country, making its way to Dartmoor.
The story then picks up on a farm in Dartmoor, where farmer Michael is going about his daily tasks, including cleaning down his equipment. Mid-clean, Michael is interupted by local vet, Jeffrey, and the two take a walk.
They both discuss the outbreak of Foot and Mouth, which so far has not reached Michael’s farm. It’s clear the two are on good terms, and they share some banter while waiting for a calf to be born.
As the day draws on, the conversation keeps returning to Foot and Mouth, with Michael clearly concerned. He knows that should the disease reach his farm, Jeffrey would be in charge of any culls, and before he leaves the farm that day, Michael wants Jeffrey’s reassurance everything will be OK.
A short while later, Foot and Mouth is declared an epidemic in the UK. In turn, the British Government extends its culling policy, which means Jeffrey will be forced to take action and kill Michael’s herd, even if his cows are not infected.
Distraught and confused, Michael makes a stand on his farm, refusing to let the cull begin. This puts Michael and Jeffrey’s friendship to the test, potentially shaping all future interactions between the pair.
Largely positioned as a two-hander between Michael and Jeffrey, with minimal supporting actors involved, And Then Come the Nightjars is a character-driven tale which is touching and emotionally charged. It places its focus on the relationship between its two leads, exploring the nightmare scenario they both go through, and then moves beyond this situation to explore their friendship.
With regards to the Foot and Mouth outbreak, and the subsequent culling, neither man wants to see Michael’s herd destroyed, but both know it is inevitable. They are aware their once jovial friendship will suffer from what is coming down the track, and nothing they can do will stop this.
The first 35-minutes of the movie deals with this scenario, setting up their connection before tearing it apart. The next 45-minutes then looks at how their friendship moves forward after the event, with time jumps to show how things play out over the next few years.
All the way through the film Nigel Hastings and David Fielder give stellar performances, bringing heart and humour to their roles. They play these parts with earnest, and come across like two middle-aged blokes you would meet down the pub.
The actors are then backed by a great script, with some sizzling lines. Although the story has switched from stage to screen, writer Bea Roberts finds ways to make it work, and this is evident in the character interactions.
The same can be said for director Paul Robinson, who really captures the soul of this story. And Then Comes the Nightjars is all about the conversations between Michael and Jeffrey, and Robinson keeps this as the central focus, while building the world around them.
While I believe the movie loses a little bit of something once the first 35-minutes are over, And Then Comes the Nightjars is solid stuff. The film is an engrossing drama, about friendship and the passage of time, initially pivoted around a very bleak period in British farming history, and it does what it needs to do on presumably a meagre budget.
At times it is sweet, at other times its tragic, but ultimately And Then Comes the Nightjars is a story about the human spirit. The film looks at how friends deal with the triumphs and tragedies of life, and how they always make room for a few smiles even in the darkest days.
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