The Girl From The North Country (15)

Bob Dylan’s songs take centre stage in this atmospheric Depression-era musical. Conor McPherson’s filmed stage production is crowded with troubled characters and grim circumstances, but the music gives their everyday struggles an added sense of scale.

Set in 1934, the story unfolds inside a struggling guesthouse in Duluth, Minnesota, where a collection of lonely and damaged characters find themselves thrown together. The owners, Nick and Elizabeth, are struggling to keep the place afloat, while their son Gene dreams of becoming a writer and their adopted daughter Marianne faces an uncertain future. Around them are preachers, drifters, businessmen and other outsiders, each carrying their own problems.

There is a lot going on, and the large cast means the story sometimes feels more like a collection of interconnected episodes than a single narrative. Yet the production has a striking visual atmosphere, with shadowy lighting and a constantly shifting set creating a world that feels suspended in time.

The real draw, though, is Dylan’s music. Songs including “I Want You”, “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Hurricane” are beautifully arranged for the stage, giving these familiar songs new context. When the music takes over, the production becomes genuinely captivating.