Run time: 102 mins

Domhnall Gleeson gets swept up in a gloriously strange Scottish comedy.

A remote island, two wild siblings and a council worker sent to evict them. This is Louis Paxton’s eccentric debut, a film with all the ingredients of a modern folk tale, with plenty of laughs along the way.

Gayle Rankin plays Isla, a fiercely protective young woman raised in near-total isolation alongside her brother Sandy (Grant O’Rourke). Their memories of their parents are hazy, but their father’s warnings about mainlanders have left a lasting impression. So when Daniel (Gleeson), a mild-mannered council employee with a passion for Tolkien, arrives to reclaim the supposedly deserted island, he gets a far stranger welcome than expected.

Paxton blends the anarchic energy of Lord of the Flies with the oddball tenderness of Limbo, while charcoal-drawn animation reveals the island’s troubled history. John Hannah is also tremendous fun as a sinister selkie lurking among the rocks.

As Daniel becomes increasingly entangled with his eccentric hosts, the film erupts into a wonderfully silly battle of wills, packed with physical comedy, fantasy references and unexpected sight gags. With spectacular Highland scenery and a cast clearly relishing the madness, this is an affectionate, offbeat slice of Scottish folklore with bags of charm.