''Shell'' is a 2012 independent Scottish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Scott Graham. It stars

Chloe Pirrie Chloe Pirrie (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish actress. She has played main roles in the 2014 miniseries ''The Game'', the 2012 film ''Shell'', and the 2015 television film ''An Inspector Calls''. She has also appeared in the 2016 miniseries ' ...

as Shell, a 17-year-old girl who lives and works at a

petrol station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoli ...

in the remote

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland ...

. The film is a broader adaptation of a previous work by Scott Graham entitled with the same name released in 2007.

Plot

Shell lives at a remote petrol station in the highlands with her father, Pete (who is epileptic). Adam (a regular customer about Shell's age) works at the local sawmill. Pete has an

epileptic seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or neural oscillation, synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much o ...

. When Pete returns home from taking a car to the scrapyard there is a charged encounter between him and Shell. That night, when the heating fails, Shell climbs into bed with her father. Next morning, Hugh (a regular, older, customer) returns bearing a gift of clothing for Shell. There is another charged encounter. After Hugh leaves, Shell approaches her father again as he repairs the heater. Adam arrives to invite Shell out. He has lost his job due to being suspected of a break-in at the sawmill. He describes some of his own family issues and says is considering setting up a similar operation to Pete's, or working with Pete, but Pete rebuffs him. Adam and Shell drive off and have sex in Adam's car. A young mother and child stop off to use the petrol station's toilets and the child leaves her doll behind. Shell runs off after the car to catch them. Pete sees she is not in the petrol station, and stares along the road (towards the spread-out village of

Dundonnell Dundonnell (Gaelic: Achadh Dà Dhòmhnaill) is a village in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland, on the south side of Little Loch Broom and at the foot of An Teallach, right at the north of the area commonly known as the " Great Wilderness". It is situat ...

and the

Sail Mhòr Sail Mhor (767 m) is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands, Scotland. It lies in Wester Ross, close to the remote hamlet of Dundonnell and south of Ullapool Ullapool (; gd, Ulapul ) is a village and port located in Northern Scotland. Ullapo ...

outlying peak of

An Teallach An Teallach (Scottish Gaelic for 'the forge' or 'the anvil') is a mountain group in Wester Ross, in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It lies west of Dundonnell Forest, north of Loch na Sealga, and south of Little Loch Broom. Its highest pe ...

). Shell is lying in the roadside heather, against a backdrop of the loch and the craggy

Beinn Ghobhlach Beinn Ghiobhlach () is a mountain with a height of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the Scoraig peninsula between the two Loch Brooms in Wester Ross Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the ...

, and Pete can't see her. Shell returns to the petrol station to find Pete having another fit. While convulsing, he bites Shell badly. As he recovers from his fit, they kiss, then fall asleep together. When he wakes up, Pete sees the cut on her hand and bruises on her legs (from her encounter with Adam), gets up and throws himself under the wheels of a passing lorry. Adam comforts Shell and they sleep together. In the morning, a lorry arrives for fuel and Shell goes off with the driver, without plans of where to go. The closing credits roll over shots of the Destitution Road.

Cast

as Shell *

Michael Smiley Michael Smiley (born 1963) is a Northern Irish comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' Kill List'' (2011) and ''The Lobster'' (2015). Early life Smiley was born in 1963 in Belfast and grew up in Holywood with ...

as Hugh *

Joseph Mawle Joseph Daniel Turner Mawle (born 21 March 1974) is an English actor. Mawle is best known for his roles as Benjen Stark in ''Game of Thrones'', Detective Inspector Jedediah Shine in ''Ripper Street'', Firebrace in ''Birdsong'', Jesus Christ in ' ...

as Pete *

Iain De Caestecker Iain De Caestecker ( ; born 29 December 1987) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying Leopold Fitz/The Doctor in the television series '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''. He is also known for his roles in Coronation Street as Adam Barlow ...

as Adam * Paul Hickey as Robert *

Kate Dickie Kate Dickie (born 1971) is a Scottish actress who has appeared in television series, stage plays and films. She is known for her television roles as Lex in the BBC series ''Tinsel Town'' (2000–2001) and Lysa Arryn in the HBO series ''Game of ...

as Clare *

Morven Christie Morven Christie (born 1 September 1981) is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Alison Hughes in the BBC drama ''The A Word,'' Amanda Hopkins in the ITV drama ''Grantchester'', and DS Lisa Armstrong in ITV crime series '' The ...

as Young Mother *

Tam Dean Burn Tam Dean Burn (born 1958 in Leith, Scotland) is a Scottish actor who has played a wide range of roles on stage and screen. On television this includes multiple roles on long-running detective series ''Taggart'', youth sci-fi thriller ''Life Forc ...

as TruckerShell (2012)
''www.imdb.com'', Retrieved on 2014-1-28

Filming

In 2011, filming began on location in the Scottish Highlands near the village of

Badcaul Badcaul ( gd, Bada Call) is a village in Highland, Scotland, on the southern shore of Little Loch Broom and is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the ...

, situated beside the sea loch

Little Loch Broom Loch Broom ( gd, Lochbraon, "loch of rain showers") is a sea loch located in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, in the former parish of Lochbroom, on the west coast of Scotland. The small town of Ullapool lies on the eastern shore of the loch. Li ...

. For the film, Production Designer

Jamie Lapsley Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and te ...

designed a purpose built garage which was constructed on a viewpoint overlooking the loch and the spectacular Beinn Ghobhlach on the peninsula opposite. The Destitution Road footage was shot near Fain.

Critical reaction

Before its release ''Shell'' was nominated for three awards at the 2012

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

, including the Best Newcomer award for lead Chloe Pirrie. Director Scott Graham is nominated for the

BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer The BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer is presented annually at the British Academy Film Awards in London. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annua ...

at the

67th British Academy Film Awards The 67th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 16 February 2014 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2013. The nominations were announced on 8 January 2014 by ...

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, shell (2013), Shell (2013)
Jamie Lapsley

Sail Mhòr
a
''www.walkhighlands.co.uk''
2012 films Films set in Scotland Scottish films British independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films