In an imposing castle on a remote Scottish island, shots are fired in the dark of the night, leaving one dead and another injured.
Was it a burglary, or is something else unfolding in the home of domineering businessman Sir Douglas Maclean (Iain Macrae)?
When policewoman Kat Crichton (Sorcha Groundsell, familiar from His Dark Materials, Shetland and The Innocents and also appearing in drama series Crime, streaming at SBS On Demand) is drawn back to the island she left a decade earlier to assist the police investigation into the deadly crime, long-buried secrets start to emerge.
If that sounds like the beginnings of some cracking Celtic Noir, you’d be spot on.
“A lot of people have been saying for years, there needs to be a kind of murder noir set in the Western Isles. It's like the landscape is just perfect for it,” says Sinead MacInnes, who play Douglas Maclean’s eldest daughter, Eilidh, in four-part series The Island (An t-Eilean in Gaelic).
The Island was filmed mostly on the Isle of Harris, located in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, a location that boats haunting landscapes, beautiful beaches and the impressive Amhuinnsuidhe Castle, which not only appears in the series as the home of the self-made millionaire, but housed cast and crew for five weeks, too.
“Filming in a castle, I suppose, is one thing that's mind blowing enough, but actually living in the castle, well, it's completely mad … We arrived at the castle the weekend before filming, and we just rolled out of bed onto set, got served our meals. It was a totally magical and unique experience,” MacInnes says.
What’s unusual about this Noir-ish crime drama though, isn’t just the location. It’s Scotland’s first high-end (i.e. expensive!) Gaelic drama, with around 70 percent of the dialogue in Scots Gaelic, a challenge that MacInnes found very satisfying.
“I was unsure if I was going to be able to do it in Gaelic, but it was amazing, because I actually managed it … It's been a lovely thing to do, from start to finish, to feel like I've nurtured that part of myself that doesn't often get to be nurtured.”
It was a similar story with Groundsell, who has talked about overcoming her own doubts about her fluency.
“I think this is the perfect time to make a drama like this, a high-end Gaelic drama, both because there is such passion for the language and the culture reemerging within the community and also because there's an open mindedness, in the world now, to foreign language dramas, to cultures that are not necessarily perceived as mainstream. I think there is an appetite for stories and art that is providing a different viewpoint, and I think that is inherent in Gaelic storytelling,” Groundsell says.
Bringing another point of view to the story is DCI Ahmed Halim, played by Sagar Radia (Industry, The Good Karma Hospital), who travels from Inverness to lead the investigation.
“Halim is quite a headstrong, no-BS sort of DCI on the force. What's interesting about him is that [not being a local] he's the eyes and the view for the audience going into this and especially when he arrives at the island. It's his first time on the island, so I guess the audience watch it through him.”
Who does he think The Island will appeal to?
“As cliched as it sounds, it's a drama that I think is for everyone, and I say that with the view that I think ultimately the story always leads. If the story is good, then the viewers will come. And we've seen that with things like Money Heist. We've seen that with Call My Agent, and we've seen that with Squid Game. You know, these are three different shows from three different parts of the world, three different languages. And ultimately they found an audience. They found a huge audience.
“So, if we're even half as lucky to achieve the success they did, I think we're in a good place. But ultimately, I think what it tells us is that the story is king, and if you get that right, regardless of what language … then the viewers will come and watch.
“And I think, on a side note to that, representation and talking about different cultures, is really important. You know, I come from a South Asian background, and where we can try and tell South Asian stories on a regular basis is really important because it broadens people's horizons, minds, views on the world.
“Some of my most rewarding moments on this show are some of the scenes I've done with Sorcha. … I think we have chemistry on camera… The sort of push and the pull that we have between each other. So, I really enjoyed working with her. It's really tested me as an actor and I think it really tested me in this character, trying to break certain moulds and stretch culture. Again, as a South Asian actor, we don't get these types of opportunities too often, where you get to play the DCI, you get to play the characters in a position of strength. So, to play that and opposite such an experienced wonderful actress like Sorcha has been a real dream.”
The island location added something special for everyone.
“The landscape in Harris is just wild and incredible and so beautiful and so raw at times, so filming, actually on location, was incredible,” says Meredith Brook Young, who plays Eilidh’s younger sister, Sìne.
It’s a very different version of Scotland. It’s got the scale, but it’s got this rawness, this real otherworldliness
“I think the audiences’ perceptions of Scotland are going to be really thrown on their heads with this show,” says producer Kieran Parker. “Because even living in Scotland, you don’t really expect what you are going to see. It’s a very different version of Scotland. It’s got the scale, but it’s got this rawness, this real otherworldliness.”
As Crichton and Halim chase answers, the castle looms, characters roam the hills and beaches and the family dynamics play out, The Island will through up some surprises.
“At its heart I think it's a family drama about a dysfunctional family. And then when you pull back a little bit, you could almost argue it's like a monster story. It's about who did it, finding that monster,” Radia says.
“People can expect to see a pretty dramatic and dark and also intriguing tale set in the islands, which, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful places in the world,” MacInnes says.
This article contains material supplied by Black Camel Pictures / All3Media International / BBC Alba.
All episodes of The Island are streaming at SBS On Demand.
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The Island
