Liusaidh (Karen Gillan) is a sharp-witted, foul-mouthed, heavy-drinking twenty-something who is still reeling from a recent loss. Living with her parents in the remote Scottish Highlands, she spends most nights boozing at the local pub and embarks on what she assumes—perhaps rightly—will be yet another short-term fling when she hooks up with an out-of-towner (Lee Pace) who is going through a midlife crisis. At the same time, a wrong number leads Liusaidh to an anonymous connection with an old man who is grappling with his own end-of-life questions and regrets. These three characters, each at their own crossroads, search for answers—together and independently—in the cold northern landscape, under fleeting glimpses of the Northern Lights.

A coming-of-age story at three distinct moments in life, The Party’s Just Beginning is an emotional tour de force, a surreal love letter to Gillan’s hometown, and a bold assertion of the first-time writer-director as a witty, wild, dark, and profound new voice.

—Cara Cusumano