The Other Lamb
Director: Malgorzata Szumowska
Writer: Catherine Smyth-McMullen
Cast: Raffey Cassidy, Michiel Huisman, Denise Gough, Ailbhe Cowley, Eve Connolly, Isabelle Connolly
Seen on: 30./31.7.2025

Content Note: cult, rape

Plot:
Selah (Raffey Cassidy) has always lived with Shepherd (Michiel Huisman) and his wives and daughters. Always one of his most fervent believers, her world is shaken when they have to leave the plot of land they were staying at. Now that she is reaching adolescence, her role starts to change, too, and suddenly Selah begins to question everything Shepherd taught her and the other girls and women.

The Other Lamb is a visually stunning film with excellent performances about a dark topic  that is thoroughly engaging but falls a little flat in the end.

The Other Lamb is told through Selah’s eyes, but starts with a sense of unease that is obvious to the audience, but that Selah needs to discover for herself. Studded with nightmarish visions, we explore Selah’s world together with her, as she realizes that Shepherd might be not as good as she thought.

Cassidy has her work cut out for herself in that set-up, appearing in pretty much every frame, and she does a really great job. Selah’s journey into maturity becomes as obvious as it is natural with her performance. Denise Gough is a great Cassandra-like figure, and Huisman is a perfect fit – he is magnetic and charming, you understand why these women would follow him. But he is also creepy, as he should be.

The movie pays more attention to the relationship between the women than with Shepherd, who remains somewhat of a cypher. I appreciated that, though. He is really not all that interesting, if we’re being honest. I was a little irritated by the fact that I was never completely sure whether Selah was Shepherd’s biological daughter, which would add another layer of ickyness in an incestuous angle. I think so, but it could also be that Selah’s mother came to Shepherd already pregnant.

The ending didn’t feel quite as satisfying as I would have hoped and as it would have deserved. But it was a great journey getting there with beautiful images, so I didn’t mind it too much. It is certainly a film worth seeing.

Summarizing: very good.