The Third Day

Have you ever been drawn to a specific place? Felt its magnetic pull? For British mainlanders Sam (Jude Law) and Helen (Naomie Harris), that place is the quaint island setting of The Third Day. Only accessible by causeway, the small, secluded town is home to islanders who proudly maintain their ancestral traditions and way of life. When Sam arrives, through strange happenstance the townsfolk are preparing for their annual summer festival — to which they have decided to invite outsiders for the first time. Sam never intended to stay long, but when the tide closes the causeway, he finds shelter at a local inn and starts to learn why other mainlanders keep telling him, “There’s something special about this place.”

Created by Felix Barrett (founder and artistic director of the British theatre company Punchdrunk) and Dennis Kelly (playwright, and creator of Utopia), The Third Day comprises three distinct parts: “Summer,” following Sam; “Winter,” following Helen; and, in between, an immersive, experiential event that challenges episodic form.

Just as Barrett famously disrupted traditional approaches to storytelling with Punchdrunk’s groundbreaking Sleep No More, he and Kelly create an almost visceral experience for the screen. Feel the magnetic pull of this mysterious island and find out what happens on The Third Day.

GEOFF MACNAUGHTON