A man works for a petty loan shark as a low-level enforcer, keeping an eye on and shaking down the vulnerable and poor.


REMORA is used with permission from David Schofield. Learn more at https://iamschofield.com.


Set in the faded, disintegrating grandeur of an English seaside town, Leighton works for a petty loan shark as a low-level enforcer, keeping an eye on and shaking down the vulnerable and poor.

He's tasked with minding a debtor named Cheryl one day. But his older brother Cass -- a gentle soul with learning difficulties -- also tags along for the day. But as the day wears on, and the makeshift trio wend their way around town, Leighton is reminded of a more innocent time -- and has to confront happier memories of his past with the man he's become today.

"Remora" combines the trappings of a crime thriller with the acute psychological insight of a character portrait, showing a moment in a man's life when his past collides with his future -- and he must decide who he truly is.

Beyond the sharp, memorable performances and deft camerawork, the film leans on a vividly drawn milieu, capturing the peculiar beauty and sadness of once-bustling seaside English resort towns whose prosperity has faded -- leaving those in poverty vulnerable to crime and corruption. The result is a rich, engrossing drama that feels both highly specific to a time and place -- but also universal in confronting the gulf between who we want to be, and who we truly are.