As a follow-up to Charlie Casanova, his debut feature that was almost universally panned by critics, Irish director Terry McMahon brings us Patrick's Day, a raw and uncompromising look at mental illness, anchored by some unbelievably strong performance from its tightly knit cast.
Patrick (Moe Dunford) is a young man suffering from schizophrenia, whose whole life is pretty much controlled by his caring, yet over protective, mother Maura (Kerry Fox). On his 26th birthday, which falls on the Irish national holiday where he gets his name, he breaks away from Maura during a trip to Dublin, and meets the older Karen (Catherine Walker), an air hostess wrestling with mental health problems of her own. Patrick feels an instant connection with her, one which Karen slowly comes around to, but Maura takes an instant dislike to the union, going to great lengths to end it.
At times both uplifting and harrowing, Patrick's Day will not fail to grab you. It's not an easy watch, the sweet opening scenes between Patrick and Karen giving way to a severe gut punch as the story takes a turn down an extremely dark path, but an utterly rewarding one. It is beautifully shot, with some scenes shot through with an almost dream like quality that adds so much to proceedings. McMahon's script doesn't sugar coat mental illness, laying out the effects on all those involved in a very real manner, and by doing so rewards us a cast of believable and relatable characters. Well, save for one. Philip Jackson's painfully unfunny police officer John Freeman, who has aspirations to be a stand up comedian, feels like a misstep. Jackson is fine in the role, and Freeman's inclusion in the story is clear, to provide Maura with someone to bounce off and reveal her more human side, but it could have easily been done without all the quirks and awkward humour the character brings to the table. Thankfully, the rest of the cast are fleshed out much better, with Dunford being absolutely mesmerising in the lead role. Mental illness isn't easy to play, but he handles it perfectly, bringing a certain man-child quality to the role that makes him instantly likable (which makes certain scenes close to the end that much harder to watch). But bubbling underneath this innocent persona is a capacity for shocking and brutal violence that hits you like a freight train when it reveals itself, and Dunford completely nails these different aspects to Patrick's character.
Initially painted as the villain, Fox brings a lot to the role of Maura, adding more and more depth to the character with each scene. What starts off as the cliched evil and controlling mother slowly becomes much more balanced, presenting a very human portrayal of a parent struggling to do the best for her child, even if she's not quite sure what that is. A monologue Fox delivers to the camera is the character at her best, all the walls she has built up tumbling down in one very real, heartbreaking moment. Walker's Karen does feel underused at times, but the actress is given her time to shine on numerous occasions, providing the perfect counterpart to Dunford's Patrick.
I will not lie, Patrick's Day is a hard watch at times, but if you give yourself to it, you will be rewarded with a brave, gorgeous, and supremely acted piece of Irish cinema.
Patrick (Moe Dunford) is a young man suffering from schizophrenia, whose whole life is pretty much controlled by his caring, yet over protective, mother Maura (Kerry Fox). On his 26th birthday, which falls on the Irish national holiday where he gets his name, he breaks away from Maura during a trip to Dublin, and meets the older Karen (Catherine Walker), an air hostess wrestling with mental health problems of her own. Patrick feels an instant connection with her, one which Karen slowly comes around to, but Maura takes an instant dislike to the union, going to great lengths to end it.
At times both uplifting and harrowing, Patrick's Day will not fail to grab you. It's not an easy watch, the sweet opening scenes between Patrick and Karen giving way to a severe gut punch as the story takes a turn down an extremely dark path, but an utterly rewarding one. It is beautifully shot, with some scenes shot through with an almost dream like quality that adds so much to proceedings. McMahon's script doesn't sugar coat mental illness, laying out the effects on all those involved in a very real manner, and by doing so rewards us a cast of believable and relatable characters. Well, save for one. Philip Jackson's painfully unfunny police officer John Freeman, who has aspirations to be a stand up comedian, feels like a misstep. Jackson is fine in the role, and Freeman's inclusion in the story is clear, to provide Maura with someone to bounce off and reveal her more human side, but it could have easily been done without all the quirks and awkward humour the character brings to the table. Thankfully, the rest of the cast are fleshed out much better, with Dunford being absolutely mesmerising in the lead role. Mental illness isn't easy to play, but he handles it perfectly, bringing a certain man-child quality to the role that makes him instantly likable (which makes certain scenes close to the end that much harder to watch). But bubbling underneath this innocent persona is a capacity for shocking and brutal violence that hits you like a freight train when it reveals itself, and Dunford completely nails these different aspects to Patrick's character.
Initially painted as the villain, Fox brings a lot to the role of Maura, adding more and more depth to the character with each scene. What starts off as the cliched evil and controlling mother slowly becomes much more balanced, presenting a very human portrayal of a parent struggling to do the best for her child, even if she's not quite sure what that is. A monologue Fox delivers to the camera is the character at her best, all the walls she has built up tumbling down in one very real, heartbreaking moment. Walker's Karen does feel underused at times, but the actress is given her time to shine on numerous occasions, providing the perfect counterpart to Dunford's Patrick.
I will not lie, Patrick's Day is a hard watch at times, but if you give yourself to it, you will be rewarded with a brave, gorgeous, and supremely acted piece of Irish cinema.
