Film Review: Showman Kielty can act as well!

FOR months, the country has been obsessed with The Late Late Show.

First, we were shocked at Ryan Tubridy’s announcement he was leaving the show. Then came the rabid debates about who would replace him, followed by the many hours of news dedicated to the fall-out of the pay scandal.

I don’t need to go into that; anyone who has picked up a paper, looked at a website or tuned into a television or radio station will know all about it.

As a result of the mania, Patrick Kielty has become the second most talked about man in the country. What was Tubridy’s successor going to be like? Could he do the long-running show justice? Would he even do the job after all the nonsense over the past few months?

Just one week after he took to the shiny new Late Late Show stage, Kielty has another first: his acting debut in the feature film Ballywalter, which is in cinemas now.

It is a little unfair to the film and its makers that it is caught up in the Late Late saga, but hey, as the old saying goes, there is no such thing as bad press.

As it happens, the film is terrific, and with the added spotlight, it might just draw a whole new audience that may have overlooked it had Kielty not become the talk of the town.

Seana Kerslake plays Eileen, an aimless twentysomething on a break from college. She hasn’t got much money and has moved back to her childhood bedroom, much to the frustration of her mother and heavily pregnant sister. She talks about having a boyfriend and returning to London to finish her degree, but something doesn’t seem quite right about her story.

Eileen is working two jobs, in a cafe and as a taxi driver, and isn’t particularly good at either. She doesn’t like customers, people in general seem to annoy her, and she has some wicked one-liners when they get on her wrong side. The only time she really seems happy is when she is drunk, which happens more often than is healthy.

It is clear that Eileen is in pain, but we have no idea what the reason is. Whatever the root is, even her family are fed up with her behaviour. Patience only goes so far.

She picks up Shane (Kielty) from the coastal town of Ballywalter. He is hitting 50 and is sullen, but is trying to do something different with his life by doing a six-week comedy course in Belfast.

He asks Eileen to be his regular driver until the course is over. Bit by bit, he reveals that he is separated from his wife and child and is hiding out in Ballywalter.

Initially, Eileen holds back, but soon, they start talking about comedy, and slowly, they each begin to peel back the layers of their lives and what has caused Eileen’s pain and Shane’s self-isolation.

Under her snide comments and eye-rolls is a lovely, kind-hearted young woman desperately struggling. Under Shane’s sullen appearance, there is a funny man desperate to overcome the pain he is suffering.

Ballywalter is thoughtful, with excellent performances, and the script captures the Northern sense of humour. 

It is written by Northern writer Stacey Gregg, who wrote and directed 2021’s Belfast drama, Here Before. Ballywalter is vastly different. Here Before was excellent but very dark and psychological whereas Ballywalter deals with melancholia by using dry comedy.

It is a little slow, but many people will enjoy the pace, which allows us to soak up the atmosphere and characters. The slow moments keep the drama and the tension, which the director, Prasanna Puwanarajah, skilfully allows to ebb and flow.

Much of the film is set in a taxi, but Puwanarajah uses the landscape between Ballywalter and Belfast, keeping things from being too claustrophobic or introverted. The director is also an actor and starred in Line Of Duty, which was filmed in Northern Ireland. Puwanarajah with the location shines through.

The film never becomes too depressing despite having depression as a central theme. 

Puwanarajah confidently realises that even depressed people can be funny and have good days. It is not all misery and hiding at home under a duvet.

Kerslake is excellent, as ever. She has the most expressive facial expressions and the ability to turn her emotions from happy to sad with a rapidity that lets watchers absorb her character’s pain. Kielty proves he is not just a comedian-turned- broadcaster; he has solid acting chops. I don’t know if his new gig will allow time for more film work, but I sincerely hope so.

Ballywalter, in cinemas, Sept 22, cert 15a, ****