Scotland is a beautiful country, a staggeringly dramatic landscape that easily lends itself to cinema. Unfortunately, a film requires more than scenery, a point that is lost on the makers of Shell. A young woman lives an isolated life in a stark, barren setting, alone with her taciturn father. The male customers who visit her petrol station desire her. Women are suspicious of her. Shell seems over-attached to her father. What it all means and adds up to is anyone's guess. Films which throw up more questions than answers can be rewarding - such as Under the Skin, which makes better thematic use of a similar landscape. However, there has to be a glimpse of narrative coherence, a hint that more rewards are waiting if we make the effort to see beyond the surface. Sadly, Shell's waters run shallow in the extreme. Chloe Pirrie creates an atmosphere as brooding Shell, but the character does not grow or change. Joseph Mawle as the father evokes no familial bond. Rather than a father battling mental demons, I saw a bewildered actor. And Michael Smiley, so sinister and captivating in Kill List, is badly served by a script that eschews any attempt at character development. This film fails on multiple levels.

I usually like films like this. Slightly unusual and in an isolated setting - they usually have a deeper meaning and are interesting to watch. This film was extremely boring. You don't really find out that much throughout the film. It lacks a lot of character development and development in general.In some ways I'd say the film was confusing. For example Shell's father randomly fell to the floor and seemed to be having some sort of attack of some sort. I only found out he had epilepsy when I read a review on here! This was never mentioned throughout the film and it wasn't that obvious what was even going on. Shell's father fell to the floor then she put a towel in his mouth... It was never expanded upon on.I really can't see a deeper meaning behind the film. Shell didn't want to leave her father but she wanted to find out what else was out there. That's basically the storyline.I also found the film to be quite slow. When people were talking there were long silences... The film dragged out quite a bit and it was boring to say at the least.I wouldn't recommend this film but maybe others could see something in the film that I couldn't.

I just watched the Film Shell by Scott Graham on Film Four. Early on in the film the father has an epileptic fit and the daughter puts a rag of some sort in his mouth. This is of course against known medical advice and has not been advised for about 20 years !In a later scene nearer the end of the film she puts her hand in his mouth, again no reason.My main worry is that people will see the film and then put a cloth in my mouth the next time I have a seizure or someone Else's. This is very dangerous as you can choke on it and it restricts your breathing as well; plus you don't know what is on the cloth / rag. Lying on his side and not calling an ambulance was right, no injuries so just leave him to recover. But don't 'assault' him with oily rags, I'm amazed he didn't choke to death !Well done to Scott for showing a character with epilepsy, but lets not make things worse for people who have seizures? The film was okay, a bit bland and slow, boring really, I was side tracked at the start by the old fashioned idea of stuffing rags into peoples mouths - horrible.

Shell is a seventeen year-old girl living with her father at a gas station in Scotland in the middle of nowhere. He sells old cars for scrap metal, while she pumps gas and cooks and cleans, much as a wife would do. Apparently, her mother headed for greener pastures and left dad and his daughter to fend for themselves. The movie drags on for an hour and a half, with no sense of humor or life to speak of. The almost incestuous overtone is creepy, as is some guy with a BMW who gives Shell a pair of expensive jeans for obvious reasons. The lead actress is very ordinary looking and her father seems to be the unhappiest man on earth. The two combine for an extremely depressing and meaningless drama which I cannot recommend for any reason. The one positive note is the beautiful Scottish countryside.