Reviews

An outstanding film from Ireland that is playing to strongly moved and even angry audiences in many parts of Europe as well as competing at the box office in its own territory favourably with such more obviously commercial movies as Intermission and Veronica Guerin. It has won either jury or audience awards at Ghent, Copenhagen, Cherbourg and Slovenia festivals. It tackles the tough and difficult-to-film subject of child abuse and manages to uplift your emotions before devestating and dashing them. All the performances, particularly those from Iain Glen as the sadist priest Brother John and from John Travers as the lead boy Mercier are outstanding and achieving widespread recognition, and many people think this is Aidan Quinn's best role ever. Skillfully and humanely handled by director Aisling Walsh, the film has more conviction than others in its family of films such as The Magdalene Sisters or Conspiracy of Silence and deserves to be seen anywhere it hasn't yet received a distribution. Anyone still interested in honest, highly moving drama or anyone whose youth was not a bed of roses will appreciate this film. An unusual film in that, just possibly, men may cry at it.

Byron and Kenny find themselves in a Greek tragedy of horrendous proportions as the gay guys that the cynical, drunken one of this Irish pair of 'working' lads has persuaded his more innocent friend to make money from start dropping dead. Ripped clothes and rent boys are in evidence as the lads start looking for the loot in the orthodox jew's bed, and they need a tool as big as two cans of Red Bull to get there. Luckily one is endowed with good fortune! The twits stumble through plot twists amid a succession of caricature characters and the film looks like South Park in live-action Brixton. Since every sensibility is deliberately offended, it reminds me of the attitude in Stephen Pickles' brilliant book of the pre-AIDS eighties, 'Queens.' No visible dicks may upset gays more than seeing themselves portrayed for laughs, but the lads are quite engaging, and humour not pornography dominates. It has won at gay as well as straight comedy film festivals (notably Montreal and Dublin) and the anxious straight critics needn't worry that they ought to be offended for their gay sisters. It's a tease: there are a couple of good twists about stereotypes near the end, and one of the lads realises he is enjoying the sex with men, while the other goes home to his mammy. In other words the film's biggest stereotypical statement is less about queens, dwarves, vicars, fat women, minicab drivers or black men than it is about Irishmen!