Deadly Cuts

A film set in a Dublin hairdressers should have been much much better. It was very enjoyable but it felt very stifled and awkward. I could feel like this was geared to a wider market while watching it as there wasn't a natural flow of jokes, craic n all the daft stuff that goes on in a Dublin hairdressers. Characters were good but it was like it was directed by someone who was afraid to show real Irish life which would have been much funnier. Making the village fictional probably added to that. The cast were great and costumes and hair were well done. The film itself hould have been great too.

Greetings again from the darkness. If we have to depend on Dublin filmmaking for the year's first stellar comedy, then so be it. This is the first feature film from writer-director Rachel Carey, but it certainly won't be the last. Somehow she's created a black and blue comedy that plays like a mash-up of ZOOLANDER (2001) and BLOW THE MAN DOWN (2018), two films I feel sure had not previously been mentioned in the same sentence.

Piglinstown is a small, working class community in Dublin ... the metaphorical 'other side of the tracks'. Michelle (Angeline Ball, THE COMMITMENTS, 1991) runs the salon, and is just one of the local business being threatened by gang activity and gentrification driven by greedy politicians. Michelle's staff includes Stacey (Erika Roe, HERSELF, 2020), a stylist who believes winning an upcoming competition can not only save the salon, but also her dreams of finally being accepted by the mother that deserted her many years ago; Gemma (Lauren Larkin), the in-house amateur psychologist and therapist; and Chantelle (Shauna Higgins, "Red Rock"), a socially awkward wizard with hair color. It's a motley crew of women who are stronger than they think, and display a camaraderie that defines small business and small towns.

The ladies embrace the upcoming "Ahh Hair" competition as their road to salvation, where a win would boost the salon's reputation and make tearing the shop down for luxury apartments an unthinkable act. The problem is that the annual competition is consistently won by the posh shop where Michelle once worked before a catastrophic on stage occurrence many years ago. The high end shop is now run by her hilariously intimidating rival Pippa (Victoria Smurfit, "Marcella"). This becomes a bit of a parody of class distinction between Dublin's north and south side.

But there is much more here than the hair styling competition. Some of the grit of the working class rears its head one evening when the gang leader threatens the ladies of the salon. One thing leads to another and soon the shop has earned its name, "Deadly Cuts." Although crime and violence play a role here, the gore is minimal and mostly occurs off screen, and even packs its own level of humor. Ms. Carey loads up her script with a slew of one-liners, each expertly delivered by a cast that embraces the cinematic lampoon. "The hair tongs are heating up" is merely one example of what is broadcast by FAD TV during the competition. For a rollicking good time, check this one out ... though you may need the closed captions unless your ears are in full Irish mode.

Featured at the 2021 Seattle International Film Festival.

Humorous and very silly but it's also deep and dark in places. It's almost two different nfilms mixed in to one. Definitely worth a watch though as there's some great laugh out loud bits.

"Deadly cuts" tells the story of Michelle (Angeline Ball) and her team of hair stylists in a working-class suburb of Dublin. A local criminal Deano (Ian Lloyd Anderson) is forcing her to pay protection money and a local councilor is threatening to demolish the street. I kind of liked the storyline. Yes, there is a twist that you will see coming from a mile away but overall it is a very well executed plot with a fantastic cast. Outstanding acting from mainly Angeline Ball (Michelle), Ericka Roe (Stacey) and Shauna Higgins (Chantelle). The movie is fast-paced and with a run-time of only 90 minutes you will never get bored. As the spoken language is Irish, I am sure I missed some jokes here and there. But this is a movie well worth watching.

Not a profound work of cinema, but Deadly Cuts is, nonetheless an extremely entertaining film. Somewhat implausible though, imho. But I loved the camp.