“The ending is powerfully loving and leaves us with hope….There isn’t a false beat here“
Con Nats
3.5 /5 Shamrocks
Cáit is an introverted nine year-old Irish girl who likes to lay in fields by herself. Her family is a typical Irish one, with lots of kids, cussing and an obligatory pregnant mother and alcoholic father who prefers drinking and gambling to looking after his family. (They seem to be a standard issue in Irish films.)
One day Cait (Catherine Clinch) is sent to stay with another family for the summer, who are related but we’re not sure how or why, although these issues slowly unfold. Eibhlin (Carrie Crowley) who is very much the caring auntie, tells Cait “There are to be no secrets in the household,” but of course, there are. The fact her father (Michael Patrick) leaves with her suitcase, but there are children’s clothes in the cupboard is a subtle hint. And Sean (Andrew Bennet) is uncommunicative, but at least he’s not as dismissive as her father.
Cait slowly grows more fond of her foster family and starts to reach out to them and the tension starts to thaw. By the time a nosey neighbour reveals all in a slew of gossip and petty bitching, we are already aware of the heavy cloud that surrounds this family.
There are no world shifting revelations or character shifts. This is just as much a coming-of-age story for young Cait as it is a coming to terms story for Eibhlin and Sean.
The Irish might be loud and brash, by they love to make these small human stories that move you. The twists are subtle, but ever so real. They connect through emotion and some lovely imagery rather than power and persuasion. It’s much harder to achieve, especially when you’re adapting from a book where these inner thoughts are so important. Writer-Director Colm Bairead has adapted and directed this nicely and some of the lovely imagery adds to the mood.
The ending is powerfully loving and leaves us with hope. All three of these people have grown many years in their few weeks and the actors bring a lot of it to the surface in very gentle ways. Clinch is excellent and Crowley and Bennet bring the right amount of pathos without begging for our sympathy. There isn’t a false beat here… only the one of your gently beating heart.
Con Nats, On The Screen
