Film reviews: Christy is a brutal, funny and poignant coming-of-age tale
A still from 'Christy', the film by Irish film-maker Brendan Canty starring Daniel Power.
- Christy
- ★★★★☆
- Cinematic release
Is violence a disease or is it a symptom of a deeper malaise?
Set in Cork, opens with its eponymous anti-hero, 17-year-old Christy (Danny Power), returning from Ballincollig to his old stomping ground on the Northside.
Christy, we learn, has been kicked out of his foster home, and has a hair-trigger temper and a reputation for lashing out; this much, at least, he shares with his older brother Shane (Diarmuid Noyes), who has also come through the care system but has recently settled down with Stacy (Emma Willis).
Christy’s case worker insists that Christy needs a trade or an educational course if he is to find a place in a residential centre, and so Shane, a painter-decorator, reluctantly gives Christy a temporary job.
But Christy is walking around with a target on his back, and local hardman Troy (Lewis Brophy) has the young man firmly in his sights…
Written by Alan O’Gorman and directed by Brendan Canty, and derived from a 2019 short by the same team, Christy is a powerful coming-of-age drama and a thoughtful exploration of youthful masculinity.
Christy himself is a complex character, not entirely in control of his impulses and incendiary personality when confronted with aggression; and yet, when we see him interacting with his friends in a more relaxed setting — there are brilliant characters in the supporting ranks, including Robot (Jamie Forde) and Radar (Kane O’Connell O’Flynn) — he is a different young man: raw and vulnerable, he is also gentle and awkwardly charming.
Power is superb in the lead role, and there’s very strong support from Noyes and Willis as they put flesh on the bones of a script that manages to be brutal, funny, and poignant.
- The Roses
- ★★★★☆
- Cinematic release
The Roses (15A) stars Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch as Ivy and Theo Rose, an English pair relocated to California and the very model of a loving, mutually supportive marriage — until, that is, a devastating storm upends their relationship, destroying architect Theo’s latest building and driving customers into the haven of Ivy’s newly opened restaurant.
As Theo’s career collapses and Ivy’s takes off, discontent takes root and festers, and soon the marriage is heading for the rocks or murder, whichever happens first.
Adapted from Warren Adler’s 1981 novel, and a makeover (rather than a remake) of the 1989 movie The War of the Roses starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas, this version is scripted by Tony McNamara and directed by Jay Roach.
A more mature, organic take on the source material, the film seeks to explore the dynamics of marriage and preconceived gender roles within the framework of a black comedy.
That it is largely successful is due to Colman and Cumberbatch’s ability to pivot from drama to comedy without losing a beat (Colman in particular showcasing terrific comic timing), and the leading pair get good support from their dysfunctionally married Californian friends Barry (Adam Sandberg) and Amy (Kate McKinnon).
- Caught Stealing
- ★★★★☆
- Cinematic release
Caught Stealing (15A) stars Austin Butler as Hank, an easy-going New York barman and ex-baseball player who is persuaded to cat-sit for his neighbour Russ (Matt Smith) by his girlfriend Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz), only to find himself swiftly targeted by the Russian mob, an NYPD detective (Regina King) and a pair of devoutly Jewish hitmen (Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio).
Charlie Huston adapts his own novel, with Darren Aronofsky directing, in a thriller that owes a debt to Elmore Leonard’s classic crime style, as a civilian with hidden depths and skills gets dragged into a conspiracy by criminals who are nowhere as clever as they think they are.
Set largely on New York’s Lower East Side, it’s an entertaining blend of fast-paced thrills, blackly comic reversals and eruptions of unexpected violence, with Butler in fine form as the small-town boy who swings a mean baseball bat.
