The Incomer Review

October 4, 2026 at 8:11pm
By Jason Stettner

The general premise of this one is that two siblings have been essentially stranded on a Scottish isle for decades. They’ve had no perspective of the outside world and have been given simplistic directions to protect this place. The two of them are, somewhat quirky to say the least.

You have the core of the two being Isla (Gayle Rankin) who’s dealing with clear loneliness and a call from the sea (in the form of a weird creature). Then there’s the well meaning but sick feeling Sandy (Grant O’Rourke). The two spend their days gathering food, interacting with the seagulls and trying to find things to do on the island.

On the flip side you’ve got a rather bored, dreary office worker perspective from Daniel (Domhnall Gleeson). Poor Daniel has been sent forth to evict the siblings and that’s where the core of the narrative begins. The clashing of perspectives while on this island with the focus on removing the two from the location.

There’s some great humor to be derived from that situation, charming moments of naivety and some striking conflicts. It really delivers something distinct from the emotionally driven stories, to twisting some well known ones and the battles that took place over defense of their island home.

It’s quite a strikingly beautiful film to take in. The location for this island was particularly stunning with various locations that each had their own distinct charm. There’s certainly a wacky bit of humor to this one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I will say that pacing wise it did go on a tad long with some jokes that repeated slightly too often. The conclusive portion was also slightly dragged out but it was still a lovely overall journey to go on. I really enjoyed the overall journey and the performances when it came to acting.

Some of it was a tad jarring conflicts wise as it was trying to be cute but at the same time had some vicious hits going on. Still, it paints a rather idyllic life that seemed simple yet charming on this island. Especially with all them wild gulls.

The Conclusion

The Incomer is a cute, charming story of two siblings and one random office worker being thrust into a situation that none of them are truly prepared for. It provided some good laughs, feel good moments and a charming narrative that I enjoyed taking in. I really found it to be a lovely time.

It did pacing wise go on a tad long, particularly at the ending and it could have been tighter. At the same time it was fun to really soak in the island’s glow. From the visuals it provided to the areas that really had distinct heart to them.

It’s got a really quirky type of humor and I enjoyed seeing the characters interact with one another. As mentioned the core group provided fine performances with some interactions being slightly off when others ventured forward. It’s really out there so some may not derive as many laughs from it but it does have a beautiful charm to the journey it aims to provide.

The Incomer Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Calgary Film

Rating Overall: 8.2