'Between the Canals' serious yet sympathetic

Director: Mark O’Connor

Cast: Liam Hyland, Stephen Jones, Peter Coonan, Damien Dempsey

A gritty hoodlum tale set in North Inner City Dublin where three characters harbour ambitions for something more.

Liam (Hyland) is a small-time drugs dealer who wants to settle down and look after his girlfriend and young son; Dots (Coonan) is an out-and-out thug with dreams of moving up in the world of crime and Scratchcard (Jones) is a user and general layabout.

It’s St Patrick’s Day, so how will the trio survive?

The characters are hardly romantically attractive and Dublin doesn’t garner much credit, but O’Connor still manages to fashion a film that gives serious, even sympathetic, consideration to all three.

Star Rating: 3/5