Treading Water Review

Having premiered at the London Film Festival last year to great acclaim, and a spotlight screening at the Manchester Film Festival, Treading Water, the debut feature from Gino Evans, manages to capture the fascination of the North on film and how its social realism is undeniably unique. Focusing on the story of Danny, played by Joe Gill, who’s an ex-criminal dealing with OCD and drug addiction, the film follows the tropes of other films adjacent to it, which doesn’t negate the qualities of the film entirely, but perhaps feels more like Evans’ ode to the genre rather than a foray into originality.

Treading Water isn’t always an enjoyable watch, purely due to the subject matter. The skill with which Evans has crafted Danny’s inner monologue, however, is easily appreciated. Opening with a shockingly honest divulgence from Danny, it’s clear Evans intended to create discomfort and hopefully empathy for those with intrusive thoughts. It’s the dedication to creating a parallel atmosphere to the weight of OCD that helps the film stand out across the genre of North England realist film, adding a thoroughly inclusive and modern understanding of the disadvantages such an ingrained mental health condition can have. A challenging watch, but worth it for the unexpectedly newfound sympathy you’ll come out with.

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There are often concerns with this genre that the North can become a breeding ground for unfairly traumatic representations of anywhere beyond London, which seemingly rings true with this. There’s nothing but coldness in each frame, drabness and dullness lining our visions of Danny, even when he’s given brief relief either by his self-medicated heroin microdoses or when he’s in the company of old schoolmate turned sex worker Laura, played by Becky Bowe.

This subplot of Laura’s abusive partner, desperation of financial instability, and struggling independent parenthood is where the film’s plot begins to lose its legs and fades into stereotypical irrelevancy. Evans’ understanding of Danny’s mental health background is clearly thorough and makes for a perfectly immersive character, whereas Laura feels two-dimensional and predictable, lacking the authenticity that Joe Gill brings to his role. Bowe plays Laura’s distress and hesitancy well, but isn’t given much more to work with.

Nevertheless, Treading Water is well worth watching for its relevancy and honesty – especially in a climate where mental health struggles are exacerbated by the North-South gap. Danny and Laura are not caricatures of real people, but odes to truths still present.