The Incomer, Louis Paxton’s seaside tale starring Gleeson alongside Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke, is a movie that seems to exist between two extremes. It’s quirky and often heart-warming, but it’s also awkward and at times, the humor feels like it doesn’t just miss the mark, but like it doesn’t understand what the mark even is. However, somewhere in the middle of those two things, there’s a nice tribute to the power of human bonds and what you give up (and gain) from isolation.
It’s the message, more than the sometimes up-and-down way the movie chooses to deliver it, that really resonates. The characters are odd, yes. That is very much the point. We’re all odd in our own way. And life isn’t, or at least it shouldn’t be, about suppressing our quirks. It should be about learning to appreciate them and about finding love and connection, even in isolation. We can be odd, as long as we find the people who understand and relate to our quirks.
Whatever you feel about how well the movie does with its oddball humor, there’s no doubt that The Incomer commits to the bit, which is pretty much what you want from a movie such as this one. And the actors are full in for it, too. That’s what makes some of the moments really stand out. Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke are terrific in roles that can be borderline too much, but that somehow feel grounded and real, even within the fantastic.
You might not be rooting for them at all times, but you’ll probably find yourself understanding them, and even relating to them.
But it is Domhnall Gleeson that truly shines. He never looks out of place amid a movie that often feels like it’s one step away from being too much, and though he’s not the only one, he navigates the different tones of the movie so well that it’s hard not to appreciate every choice he’s making. Sometimes the hardest thing about a movie such as this one is to look like you understand the tone the performance requires, but like you’re also being earnest. Like you care. Gleeson doesn’t just manage it; he looks like he’s having a blast while doing it.
All that being said, The Incomer clearly won’t appeal to everyone. Perhaps the most charming thing about it is that it doesn’t seem to be trying to. It’s just here to bring us the kind of fairytale that doesn’t really seem to fit any genre, and do so while providing us with a group of characters that are, just like us, only trying to find their place in the world. If you like it, that’s great. If not, well… the movie seems content to still be what it is.
Whether that fully works or not might depend on your taste, but there’s a strange and yet fun, enjoyable, and very sweet story at the heart of The Incomer, one that I found myself unable to look away from. That’s worth a great deal.
The Incomer premiered at the Sundance 2026 Film Festival.
