This article is jointly published with The Daily Utah Chronicle as part of collaborative coverage of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

“The Incomer,” directed and written by Louis Paxton, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22. The film stars Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke as Isla and Sandy, a thirty-something brother-and-sister duo who have spent their entire lives as the sole occupants of a tiny Scottish island. 

About “The Incomer”

Left to live on the island forever after the deaths of both their parents, Isla and Sandy develop strange traditions and rituals based on Scottish folklore and the island’s wildlife inhabitants. Gulls, seals and the sea dictate their lives as Isla and Sandy live off the land and collect washed-up mainland artifacts. 

Isla is the headstrong and tenacious older sister who keeps everything in order. She makes sure Sandy is fed and safe, and keeps the pair stubbornly occupying the island in honor of their father, who gave himself to the sea so that they could stay. Sandy is a comically childish little brother who is overly dependent on his older sister’s care. His naive whimsy is revealing of how little either of the siblings knows about modern life off their island. 

Isla and Sandy’s father trained them from a young age to protect the island from mainland incomers and never leave at all costs. They scare off anyone who dares sail to their land with whale bone weapons and handmade bird costumes. 

Seclusion leads to a desire for change

Isla and Sandy live to protect their island, but a deep yearning leaks out from their perverse exteriors. They are lonely and sick of each other. Isla is tired of spending all her time taking care of Sandy. She longs for romance and company. Sandy is fascinated by glimpses of mainland life, coveting items that wash up on shore and fantasizing about different foods and modern conveniences. 

Both are extremely lonely, but they have to eliminate any newcomers to defend a generations-long legacy that they stand at the end of; protect the island, never leave the island. 

Until one day, a man named Daniel came to evict them from the island on strict orders of the U.K. housing and land commission. A heart-felt, eclectic comedy ensues, as Isla and Sandy grow strangely fond of Daniel, who is uniquely sweet and resentful of his orders to evict the pair. 

“The Incomer” subverts the harmful tropes that oftentimes define the role of eccentric women in film. Isla is a deeply strange, uniquely vulnerable and strikingly beautiful woman. Her unusual life makes her desperately naive and tremendously free-spirited compared to the leading man, who comes from a world of paperwork and corporate orders.

Tropes and a discovery of self

As Isla and Daniel fall into an unlikely romance, Rankin’s character is the perfect candidate to be pigeon-holed as a one-dimensional love interest who exists only as a catalyst for the male lead’s character arc. Instead, the story centers around Isla’s unique interests and character development. Daniel, played by Domhnall Gleeson, is used to tell Isla’s story and initiate her character development. Isla must escape the weight of her father’s lies while grappling with her true desires and the pressure of her relationship with her brother. 

“Born sexy yesterday” is a film trope in which female characters are adult women whose circumstances or supernatural factors give them the minds or attitudes of children. The trope is a male sexual fantasy based on power and pedophilic beauty standards. “Born sexy yesterday,” women are blissfully unaware of their own sexual appeal. They go against social cues and cultural conventions simply because of a lack of understanding.

 “The Incomer” is the perfect set-up for “born sexy yesterday.” Isla hasn’t interacted with people outside of her close and mostly deceased family. She doesn’t understand anything about modern life, including the internet or T.V. The film even features her naively encountering a dildo and trying to learn how to kiss. 

Yet Isla’s lack of knowledge is never framed as childlike. Daniel’s role isn’t to teach her how to act normally. Instead, Isla is a powerful figure. She’s so strong that Daniel’s life is in her hands when he invades her home. Her differences are embraced and her wishes are respected. 

The “born sexy yesterday” role is taken by Sandy, who provides comedic effect for cliché fish-out-of-water scenes, while his sister is revered as a strong-willed force of nature. Rankin’s resolute performance as Isla immerses the viewer in a world of sacred gulls and talking seals, creating an incredibly likable and completely unforgettable character.