The Garden

In late 1970s England, we are introduced to Jack, a self-absorbed 15-year-old boy. He navigates life in a post-war prefab home with his family, consisting of his parents and three siblings: Julie, Sue, and Tom.

Jack's life is turned upside down when his father suffers a fatal heart attack while they are working on the garden path. This sudden tragedy sends shockwaves through the entire household, leaving the family to grapple with grief and loss.

Just months after the father's death, Jack's mother becomes seriously ill and becomes bedridden. This forces Jack and his sister Julie to step up as the family's primary caregivers, further complicating their young lives.

Initially, Jack and Julie's relationship is fraught with conflict due to Jack's selfishness. They struggle to manage their responsibilities and emotions while caring for their incapacitated mother, leading to increased tension in the household.

As they cope with their dire situation, an unsettling bond begins to form between Jack and Julie. Jack finds himself developing an inappropriate crush on his older sister, which complicates their already strained relationship.

Eventually, their mother passes away, leaving Jack and Julie to face a shocking dilemma. Fearful of being separated and placed into foster care, they decide to conceal her death from the outside world.

Jack and Julie go to extreme lengths to hide their mother's death, using leftover cement to entomb her in a makeshift sarcophagus in the basement. This morally questionable decision further entangles them in their shared darkness.

With no adult supervision, life unravels for Jack, Julie, and their siblings. Jack struggles with maturity and personal hygiene, while Sue withdraws into herself, finding refuge in her diary.

Amidst the chaos, Julie enters into a relationship with an older man named Derek. Jack experiences jealousy as he grapples with his complex feelings for Julie, further straining their already complicated sibling bond.

Jack's younger brother, Tom, begins exploring his identity through cross-dressing. As he regresses into childlike dependency, his behavior adds another layer of tension to the family's volatile situation.

Derek grows suspicious of the odor emanating from the basement, prompting Jack to fabricate a story, claiming that the cement entombs a deceased dog. This deception underscores the fragile reality the siblings are living in.

In a moment of vulnerability, young Tom reveals the truth about their mother's remains to Derek. This unexpected revelation heightens the already intense situation, exposing the dark secret that Jack and Julie have been hiding.

Derek discovers Jack and Julie in a compromising situation and is horrified by their incestuous relationship. Despite his disgust, Jack and Julie reject Derek's judgment, viewing their bond as normal given their traumatic circumstances.

As the tension escalates, Derek violently dismantles the sarcophagus, symbolizing the breakdown of Jack and Julie's fragile world. Amid this chaos, Jack and Julie find solace in each other, culminating in a moment of profound intimacy.

The sound of Derek dismantling the sarcophagus echoes throughout the house as Jack and Julie fall asleep, wrapped in each other's embrace. Outside, police lights ominously flicker, signaling the inescapable consequences of their actions.