‘The Incomer’ Review: Finding Happiness In the Most Isolated of Places

While the Sundance Film Festival may be leaving Utah after 2026, it’s clear that this year’s attendees (filmmakers and fans alike) are united by a shared mission: to make this Sundance one of the best yet. That collective passion for cinema, and for the way film can bring together strangers from across the world, is clearly embodied by the creative team of The Incomer, a film that now stands as one of my favorites of the year.

The premise alone was enough to pique my interest when I bought my ticket. As described on the Sundance website: “On a remote Scottish isle, siblings Isla (Gayle Rankin) and Sandy (Grant O’Rourke) hunt birds and talk to mythical beings while fighting off outsiders. Their lives change when Daniel (Domhnall Gleeson), an awkward official, arrives to relocate them.” With no further knowledge of the film, I walked into the screening excited and curious. What I wasn’t prepared for was just how deeply the film would affect me.

A heartwarming comedy at its core, The Incomer delivers no shortage of laughs. Running gags (most memorably involving a sex toy that washes ashore on the isle) and playful references to The Lord of the Local Authority (a tale bearing a suspicious resemblance to my favorite Tolkien series) kept the audience thoroughly amused. I laughed more during the film’s nearly two-hour runtime than I have in a theater in a long time, a sentiment echoed during the post-screening Q&A, when another audience member admitted she couldn’t remember the last time a movie made her laugh that hard.

But my admiration and appreciation for The Incomer extends far beyond its humor. What has lingered with me hours after leaving the theater is the film’s sincere and tender exploration of happiness: what it means, where it’s found, and how deeply it is tied to human connection and self-acceptance.

While we are initially led to believe that Isla and Sandy are relatively content in their isolation, steadfast in their mission to protect the isle from “incomers,” the film gradually reveals the cost of such guardedness. Their physical isolation mirrors an emotional one, illustrating how shutting out the outside world can be both a form of preservation and self-sabotage. In contrast, Daniel portrays what many in our modern world consider a model of success: a stable career and financial security. Yet, beneath that stability lies a dissatisfied man who recognizes that he has simply become a cog in the governmental wheel, rather than the “powerful wizard” he internally strives to be.

Through the ever-evolving relationships between Isla, Sandy, and Daniel, The Incomer reminds us that happiness cannot be defined by other people, whether it be family, employers, or society at large. And, to live a truly meaningful and joyous life, the film suggests, often requires the honesty and support of those closest to us, who can help us see ourselves more clearly than we can alone.

In the latter half of the film, during a particularly tense scene, Daniel delivers a line to his perpetually frustrating boss Rose (Michelle Gomez) that perfectly encapsulated the film’s message for me: “We’re all weird.” Each of us embodies our own vulnerabilities, strengths, and passions, and perhaps life’s most beautiful (and most difficult) task is learning to accept that “weirdness” within ourselves. And, even more challenging is finding the courage to seek out others who wholeheartedly embrace us for all of our unique intricacies.

Ultimately, The Incomer serves as a reminder of why I love Sundance so deeply. You never quite know what message in a film will linger with you long after you leave the theater, and truly original ideas continue to thrive in the filmmaker community.

I look forward to the news that this film has been purchase and will certainly see this in a theater again once it is more widely release.