How Long Is “Archipelago”?

A relaxing getaway turns into an angry confrontation between the members of a shattered family in this drama from British filmmaker Joanna Hogg. When Patricia (Kate Fahy) learns that her college-age son Edward (Tom Hiddleston) will be spending a year in Africa with a volunteer organization, she decides the family should spend some quality time together before he leaves, and she organizes a couple weeks of vacation on an island off the coast of Cornwall. Patricia hires a cook Rose (Amy Lloyd) to look after the kitchen and even brings in an artist, Christopher (Christopher Baker), to give everyone lessons in painting. But it soon becomes clear that not everything is going well in the household; Cynthia (Lydia Leonard), Edward's older sister, regards his volunteer work with great cynicism and doesn't get along very well with her mother. And while Patricia tries to put on a brave face, it's soon obvious that her husband William will not be joining them on the island, and their occasional telephone conversations confirm something is very wrong in their marriage. As the tension grows over the two weeks away, the family's composure begins to crack, as much as they pretend all is well. Archipelago was an official selection at the 2010 BFI London Film Festival.