An Irish Goodbye

Turlough McCaffrey lives in London while his brother Lorcan with Down syndrome lives with their mother on the family farm in Ireland. Turlough returns home for his mother's funeral. Lorcan wants to stay and work the farm. Turlough sees that as impossible and insists that he goes live with their aunt. Local priest Father O'Shea has a list from their mother.

This won the Oscar and BAFTA. It is a good story although it is short. In that, the story feels like it could be more. It isn't anything too big or completely new. I don't think that actors with Down syndrome is terribly new. I can see this being expanded into a full length movie.

Seamus O'Hara returns to the family farm and his pugnacious brother James Martin. Their mother has died, and what are they to do with the acres.... and James. Before they do anything else, they agree to do the one hundred tasks on their mother's bucket list.

Difficult families are one of the basic tropes of good story-telling, from Oedipus Rex on, and this falls into that category, with some ill-tempered sullenness and awkward silences in between the increasingly odd and downright fanciful quests of the late old woman, poor woman.

And now I had better end this review before I begin to sound like Barry Fitzgerald in THE QUIET MAN.

Oscar winner "An Irish Goodbye" is a black comedy of sibling rivalry, with siblings who only have each other after the recent loss of their mother, a particularly Irish rural approach to grief .

Set in the rural Northern Irish countryside of County Antrim and tell us the reunion of the estranged McCaffrey brothers.

The sadness of the grieving process over the recent loss of their mother is accentuated by the wintry photography of the setting. Far from the emerald meadows typical of Ireland, these empty, melancholy landscapes are used to evoke the idea of rural isolation.

Turlough is the older brother, played by Seamus O'Hara, an actor we have seen in Game of Thrones and The Northman. Turlough, previously expatriated in London due to the loss of his father, has to take care of his younger brother Lorcan, who has an intellectual disability. Lorcan is played by James Martin, an actor the pair of directors discovered in the BBC's Ups & Downs. Fortunately, Lorcan's disability does not turn out to be a defining part of the script; instead, the core of the script is basically a sibling relationship.

The character of Lorcan, a headstrong farmer, turns out to be complex, mischievous and multifaceted, with some sharp dialogue towards his more reserved brother. Both have opposing desires as Lorcan sees his dreams of continuing to live and work on the family farm frustrated, because the pragmatic Turlough, wants to send him to live with his aunt at the other end of Ireland, to sell the farm and return to London. Something that alludes to the title of the short, to leave the party early, without warning.

The somewhat mouthy local parish priest, played brilliantly by Paddy Jenkins, takes it upon himself to assist the brothers with the final details of the wake and shows them a list of 100 unfulfilled wishes, which belonged to the boys' late mother. Lorcan takes it as an opportunity and will only agree to leave the farm once he and Turlough have fulfilled and completed each and every wish on their mother's list. Reluctantly, Turlough agrees to the deal, as a last tribute to his mother before selling the farm. By the way the short film has the bonus of having the voice of Michelle Fairley, known as Catelyn Stark in Game of Thrones, to provide the voice of the brothers' mother from beyond the grave.

Both always carry their mother's ashes with them on a posthumous journey of realization. The spirit of the classic Irish comedy is ingrained in this short film.

A touching escapist but at the same time acidic and elegiac story about brotherhood, about learning to share the burden of difficult moments and making the most of the time we have.

*A more detailed review can be found on the youtube channel Kristonkino.

This dark but delightful film, set in the Northern Irish countryside, deserves all its awards and praise. Yes, we have seen most of the plot twists before and warring brothers is a familiar theme. However, the joy of this film is in its warm heart and wit.

Paddy Jenkins, who plays the quirky and awkward Father O'Shea, was a particular favourite, but of course, the film belonged to James Martin as Lorcan. Feisty and often very rude, he owns the screen whenever he appears.

The representation of his Down's Syndrome was an education, too. We see Lorcan as more than his condition. He knows exactly what he wants in life, he always says what he thinks and leads the way in his plans for his life and in celebrating his mother's memory. This really makes the film stand out from others in its representation of disability.

The only thing I thought was a tad silly was the extremely professional looking artwork which was meant to be produced by Lorcan. Yes, of course it was a visual joke, but something slightly rougher would have had the same effect.

I have now rewatched this film 5 times and each time note a different nuance, expression or film angle.

The script is hilarious throughout, mightily irreverent but laugh out loud funny.

It finished leaving the question "what next" for the brothers. But I see only a very happy ending.

For only three actors to produce such a slick coherent work is remarkable. Well done to all three. The northern Irish accent can some times be difficult to interpret but I heard every syllabul. The opening sequence of the bleak open moorland leading to the family home echoed the plot of the bereaved brothers.

A masterpiece as far as I'm concerned.