Galway 2008: last of the Irish features
ALARM is a contemporary Irish thriller which sees a young lady (Ruth Bradley) buy her dream home in an out-of-town housing development outside Dublin. Unfortunately for her, she's still haunted by a break-in incident in her past - a situation not helped when even in her new home it appears that a burglar has a grudge against her.
In the film's favour, it does have something to say about the sterility of these out-of-town housing developments, the streets populated by commuting business high-flyers who don't speak to their neighbours, whole estates of characterless communities which serve little purpose except somewhere for people to sleep in between trips to the big city.
Sadly, it fails in most other areas. Below par acting, an air of unintended silliness to the script and some really unsympathetic characters (the boyfriend's supposed to be some kind of enigma - he's not, he's just bland)... it just doesn't work. It's a thriller with very few thrills. Bradley's lovely, I'll give you that, but I'm afraid I was expecting a little more than eye candy. I didn't get it though.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also disappointed by SUMMER OF THE FLYING SAUCER too. A totally redundant intro scene featuring a cameo by Patrick Bergin tells us we're about to witness a story of growing up in the 60s. That's what we get right enough, but sadly it's a story populated with drippy teens, boring aliens and stereotypical supporting characters. No cliche is left unturned as two aliens (crashlanded in Ireland) unite with the hippy outcast to try and escape from the unwelcoming village community.
None of the cast shine particularly, and to be honest the most interesting observation on that front came when I spotted Lalor Roddy in a minor role. I don't believe I've ever seen any other screen work by him but he was in THIS PIECE OF EARTH at last year's Edinburgh Fringe, the single best piece of theatre I've ever seen.
The film will probably win over younger viewers and perhaps charm a few older ones who are familiar with the Irish setting, the 60s fashions or both. However, it's not a great film and is unlikely to be revisited by me. I gather it has secured an Irish cinema release this month though, so fair play to it and I wish it all the best - but I believe that 32A has also secured a release in Ireland too so if you want some Irish family entertainment, probably best to check that one instead. Actually, if you're Irish, you should see them both, if only to support your local film industry.
The last of the Irish feature films I saw was a big improvement. Again, it's a cast of mainly youngsters and again it's set in the recent past. This time however the movie, PEACEFIRE, deals with a bunch of dropout kids coping (or not) with the troubles in Northern Ireland. When one of them (SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY's John Travers) is offered the opportunity to turn tout for the Brits against the IRA (neither side being particularly friendly toward him), a world of trouble is visited upon him. Well acted, this compelling, gritty story is a triumph and a delightful end to my spate of Irish films from the Fleadh.
I'm not finished with Galway yet though - there are still a bunch of short films I saw there, plus another Irish film that I happened to see there outside of the Fleadh. So more is to come!
In the film's favour, it does have something to say about the sterility of these out-of-town housing developments, the streets populated by commuting business high-flyers who don't speak to their neighbours, whole estates of characterless communities which serve little purpose except somewhere for people to sleep in between trips to the big city.
Sadly, it fails in most other areas. Below par acting, an air of unintended silliness to the script and some really unsympathetic characters (the boyfriend's supposed to be some kind of enigma - he's not, he's just bland)... it just doesn't work. It's a thriller with very few thrills. Bradley's lovely, I'll give you that, but I'm afraid I was expecting a little more than eye candy. I didn't get it though.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also disappointed by SUMMER OF THE FLYING SAUCER too. A totally redundant intro scene featuring a cameo by Patrick Bergin tells us we're about to witness a story of growing up in the 60s. That's what we get right enough, but sadly it's a story populated with drippy teens, boring aliens and stereotypical supporting characters. No cliche is left unturned as two aliens (crashlanded in Ireland) unite with the hippy outcast to try and escape from the unwelcoming village community.
None of the cast shine particularly, and to be honest the most interesting observation on that front came when I spotted Lalor Roddy in a minor role. I don't believe I've ever seen any other screen work by him but he was in THIS PIECE OF EARTH at last year's Edinburgh Fringe, the single best piece of theatre I've ever seen.
The film will probably win over younger viewers and perhaps charm a few older ones who are familiar with the Irish setting, the 60s fashions or both. However, it's not a great film and is unlikely to be revisited by me. I gather it has secured an Irish cinema release this month though, so fair play to it and I wish it all the best - but I believe that 32A has also secured a release in Ireland too so if you want some Irish family entertainment, probably best to check that one instead. Actually, if you're Irish, you should see them both, if only to support your local film industry.
The last of the Irish feature films I saw was a big improvement. Again, it's a cast of mainly youngsters and again it's set in the recent past. This time however the movie, PEACEFIRE, deals with a bunch of dropout kids coping (or not) with the troubles in Northern Ireland. When one of them (SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY's John Travers) is offered the opportunity to turn tout for the Brits against the IRA (neither side being particularly friendly toward him), a world of trouble is visited upon him. Well acted, this compelling, gritty story is a triumph and a delightful end to my spate of Irish films from the Fleadh.
I'm not finished with Galway yet though - there are still a bunch of short films I saw there, plus another Irish film that I happened to see there outside of the Fleadh. So more is to come!
Labels: Film festivals, Galway Film Fleadh, Irish film, science fiction films
posted by Alan at 6:16 pm
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