Danny (Luke McQuillan – “Black Medicine”) is a homeless man, living “rough” along a canal in Dublin. He is accosted by three ruffians who first taunt him, then beat him up – all while taking video of it.
We next see Danny, dried blood on his face and coat, at an office that provides free assistance to the homeless. He is served by a young woman, Kate (Louise Bourke – “Who We Love”), who is compassionate and offers to help him: but Danny is a loner. Despite that, there is the beginning of an attraction between them.
Afraid to stay by the canal any longer, Danny seeks refuge in the woods where he comes upon a camp with a fire. Trying to warm himself, he is attacked by the young camper, Will (Daniel Fee – “Obituary”). After a tussle, they accept one another. Will is on the run from a drug gang who he crossed.
In a series of dreams, we are given a bit of Danny’s history – something he won’t consciously share with others. We see him, his wife Gill (Jade Jordan – “Blackshore”), and son Tadgh (Manco O’Connor), move into a new apartment. But we also see Danny’s deterioration, his failure to properly watch his son and the fire Danny caused by falling asleep with a lit cigarette. The smoke permanently injured Tadgh, as we learn later, has destroyed the marriage, and haunted Danny ever since.
Danny gets to know Will, and realizes the boy is under the thumb of a drug gang boss named Power (Aidan Killen – “Game of Thrones”). Power has a financial hold on Will and wants him back in “the family.”
At the same time, Danny is trying to maintain access to his boy, despite Gill’s desire to keep them apart.
Danny’s support for Will brings these two storylines together, as Power begins to threaten Will’s mother and Tadgh.
Director Mark O’Connor (“Cardboard Gangsters) and writer/actor Luke McQuillan have brought us a taut story with interesting characters that are well developed and appealing. Special mention for McQuillan as the PTSD suffering, violence-repressed Danny, and Aiden Gillan as the gang boss who oozes threat although he never participates in a single violet act. Watching him is like watching a smiling cobra, ready to strike and yet, never quite doing so himself. Also noteworthy is Daniel Fee as the not quite innocent youth trapped in Power’s web until Danny comes to his rescue.
The two creators also give us a look at Great Britain gangsterism without the tongue-in-cheek approach of some more flamboyant films. This film is closer to “The Long Good Friday” than to “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.”
This film builds from the violent attack on Danny in the beginning through a long period of suspended but always threatening violence until the very brutal conclusion and surprise ending. This is to be expected from the genre, but the exposition of the characters is a pleasantly surprising gift. Well worth watching.
Runtime: One hour, 42 minutes
Availability: Opens June 2 in theaters in the UK. Later, worldwide
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