Screenplay:
Daragh CarvilleCinematography:
Damien ElliottComposer:
Stephen HiltonCast:
Rupert Grint, Robert Sheehan, Kimberley Nixon, James Nesbitt, Conor MacNeill, Lalor Roddy, Paul Caddell, Paul Kennedy, Maggie Hayes, Greer Ellison (more)Plots(1)
Malachy and Luke are best friends in spite of the fact that they come from very different backgrounds. Both boys live in Belfast albeit on different sides of the tracks, or rather, class barriers. Malachy is a model pupil from an intact family and has a part-time job at a leisureplex; Luke lives with his alcoholic father and sells drugs for his brother, Chris. Both friends spend a fantastic summer together until Michelle, Malachy's boss's daughter, turns up. Michelle has been living in London. Both boys are smitten from the word go. Michelle's father Crilly doesn't have much time for his daughter, he's much more interested in her best friend, Donna, with whom he is having a not-so-secret affair. Michelle feels neglected. The fact that the boys have the hots for her suits her just fine. And because she flirts with both of them in equal measure the two friends soon become rivals. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (2)
I don't know if I expected so much from the film, but what I got seemed rather like a cop-out to me. Two young men, maybe even teenagers, fall in love with the same girl, and their friendship falls apart. This is a bit of a cliché, and it's filmed like one big cliché. Not even the rough ending, which we know about the whole time, saves it.
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After a long time, I had a sense of satisfaction again from the very beginning, because this formal style is something that is really close to my heart. As it happens with these visual paintings, the story is not exactly Haneke-esque, but the dialogue is very decent and the final denouement is satisfying to say the least. This is now one of many additions to the category of teen dramas in the last couple of years that the British simply have a flair for and can make tastefully and at the same time very attractively. The excellent soundtrack is becoming a must and at this point I can't guess how long it will be before I stop enjoying films on similar themes :)) It simply has pacing and charm :))
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