Because the characters' anguish is so horrific, it registers as inexpressible. The memory of pain constantly pulsates behind her washed-out eyes. Cunliffe is a courageous presence, always on the edge of explosion, yet emotionally straitjacketed. In an early scene, the family peels down a country road, racing to the hospital. Even the foamy sea seems hard-edged and dangerous, as if the waves could hack a person in half.
Nature is cruel, but crueler are the unnatural acts committed by our fellow human beings.
There are no sunsets. There are no secrets known to babies. There are no explanations.