Film Review: Four stars for 'The Sparrow' shot in West Cork

WEST Cork is having an onscreen renaissance. It is not a secret how beautiful it is, and plenty of films and television shows have been filmed in the region, but it has yet to be capitalised in the way other areas have. Things are changing. Netflix’s hit show Bodkin is almost entirely shot in Union Hall, raising the area’s profile.

Michael Kinirons’s debut feature is set in Baltimore and focuses on a dysfunctional family drowning in grief.

16-year-old Kevin (Ollie West) doesn’t fit in with the rest of his family. His dad, Larry (David O’Hara), is an ex-soldier with a temper and an alcohol problem. He is quick with his fists and has no qualms about using them on his sons.

Sally (Michelle Gleeson) is the youngest. There is no sign of Larry being violent towards her, yet.

Kevin’s older brother Robbie (Éanna Hardwicke) is the golden boy. He is tall, strong, and stereotypically manly. He is about to join the army, and as he is an exemplary student, he will be fast-tracked into the cadets. Larry loves Robbie, constantly compares Kevin to him, and readily puts down Kevin in front of people.

Trapped in this violent, oppressive environment, Kevin is stagnating. He isn’t sporty like Robbie; he doesn’t like the army, let alone want to join it. Larry could probably get his head around that, but he can’t handle the fact that Kevin won’t stop talking about his mother, who died a few years earlier.

Larry won’t let his kids talk about her; she is non-grata. He locked her belongings in the attic, out of sight, out of mind, but Kevin keeps sneaking up. He wears her clothes and her lipstick. Larry is sickened by his son’s behaviour.

Kevin thinks he has found a kindred spirit in a local girl, Hanna (Isabelle Connolly, but something holds her back from him. They find an injured sparrow, which Kevin takes home to nurse.

Larry is annoyed. It’s like something his wife would have done, and he can’t handle the reminder. The more Larry needles Kevin, the more Kevin’s mental health unravels. When something terrible happens, Kevin begins to spin a web of lies, leaving Garda Mahon (Mark O’Halloran) to work out the truth before more lives are ruined.

Kinrions’s debut is a compelling story of trauma and grief skillfully told, cleverly avoiding melodrama. The film’s central trio gives powerful performances.

Veteran actor O’Hara avoids cliches and delivers a frighteningly real performance.

Hardwicke imbues Robbie with empathy but also pulls off the charm expected of the golden child. West, in his screen debut, gives a star-making performance. He is one to watch, as is Kinirons, who knows when to pull back, when to let the story play out, and how to use the landscape to add to the atmosphere. Great stuff.

See more on The Sparrow on P7 of Downtown.

The Sparrow, out in cinemas tomorrow, Friday July 5. Cert; 15a ****