'Savage' an uncompromising, gritty Irish film

Director: Brendan Muldowney

Cast: Darren Healy, Nora-Jane Noone, Karl Argue, Reyan Andrews

Cert: 18

A dark and powerful drama from debut writer-director Muldowney with a mesmeric central performance from Healy as Paul Graynor, a loner photographer living in inner-city Dublin with few friends other than the nurse (Noone) who looks after his ailing father.

On his way home from a first, promising date with the nurse Graynor is brutally mugged and sent into a dark world where he goes through the stages of what is a mental, and physical, rollercoaster, moving from anger to a need for revenge.

Muldowney fashions a story that is unrelenting in its menace and brooding atmosphere, capturing the horrors of a dangerous inner-city landscape.

The strength of the film lies in its unashamed honesty, no lightness to lift the gloom, nothing to distract the audience from Graynor’s emotional journey.

A fine Irish film from an ensemble team willing not to compromise on what it wants us to see and feel.

Star Rating: 5/5