Swing Bout

Two young women boxers await their chance to shine in a competitive, brutal sport, the real stories happening outside the ring. Dealing with her ruthless coach (Sinead O'Riordan), Toni (Ciara Berkeley) paces backstage with an unspoken anxiety that hints at her troubled backstory, while her opponent Vicki (Chrissie Cronin) is pushed to her limits by her father (Johnny Elliot) with a subtle manipulation that hints perhaps at the unfulfillment of his own broken dreams. Accomplished performances bring authenticity to the claustrophobia of the backstage areas where several, interconnecting narratives entwine with growing tension. Shots of dramedy spiral darkly into violent and deceitful actions of opposing brothers in crime (Ben Condron and Frank Prendergast) as ruthless coach Emma plays her own game of manipulation and dishonesty. A visceral exploration by the director (Maurice O'Carroll), SWING BOUT portrays the murkier and male-dominated side of the business, and I was left wanting more from the female characters of Toni and Vicki who both shine from the screen with trajectories of light and dark, bravery and fear, their ambitions at the mercy of the influencers whom control their fates.

A constantly surprising independent film that can go to toe to toe in any ring with the big shots.

Buyoed by a set of captivating central performances, Swing Bout captures a seedy underbelly of corruption while keeping a clear focus on strong character development and finds a way to make a virtue of a tight budget while still feeling like a momentous fight night.

At times it seems like a roving documentary crew have managed to invade some grimy inner sanctum to lay bear the faults and failures of a system thay brutalises bodies while propping up suits in the background. Strongly recommended.

Swing Bout is a visceral, intense, gritty indie production, I really enjoyed it and was never bored once unlike some bigger budget budget films, so hats off to all involved.

All of the characters were strong and direct with snappy dialogue and one or two punches were thrown verbally and physically(poor Micko) The main action isn't where you might expect it which was actually a nice surprise which left me wanting more(Swing Bout two, maybe?) I thoroughly recommend this film which should really be seen on the big screen, go see it in the cinema for full dramatic effect, you won't be disappointed.

I was incredibly impressed with Swing Bout. I am always very supportive of independent film making, especially Irish film. However Swing Bout really stands out as something special and has set the bar extremely high for Irish filmmaking going forward. It's extremely exciting to see such a stacked cast of fresh and exciting emerging Irish talent such as Baz Black and Sinéad O'Riordan up on the big the big screen and they've got some fantastic material to work with here. There is an immaculate attention to detail in Swing Bout. The set, the score, the performances all come together perfectly to create an exiting momentum from start to finish. Not a single frame is wasted, I was thoroughly invested in the life's of all the characters and it all builds towards an exciting conclusion you will never see coming. Go out and experience Swing Bout on the big screen as soon as you can, you will not be disappointed.

We have all seen poorly made boxing films where the action is spoiled by unconvincing fight scenes. This is not one of those movies.

A boxing themed film where you never once see the ring? Never see the combatants following the Queensbury rules? Shouldn't work. Absolutely does work. Beautifully

The story is the double dealing backstage antics and rivalry of many different threads and not the fights themselves. And it is far, far more interesting because of this.

There's humour a plenty from O'Riordan and cast, drama and high stakes. But there is also sensitivity and real gut wrenching emotion from Berkeley and Cronin in particular, wonderfully driven by O'Riordan.

Not what you expect. But all the better because of this.

Well done in all aspects.