Rory O'Shea Was Here

I just witnessed a movie that by all rights should have been fodder for a second rate MOW on Lifetime...but trust the Irish to keep it from being anything but saccharine. The set-up all but SCREAMS "Here's a message concerning what's TRULY important in life" but the execution was way into the "Let's see just what we can get away with, here."

It helps to have two fantastic actors in the leads -- James McAvoy (as Rory) and Stephen Robertson (as Michael). While Rory is offered up as the near saintly one -- never mind the language and attitude, he's the "life force" in this piece and could easily have been insufferable in his ultimately "caring" attitude -- McAvoy keeps him sharp enough to keep him from being too sweet. But the revelation is Stephen Robertson as Michael. Not since Leonardo Di Caprio in "...Gilbert Grape" has anyone so perfectly captured a person with an affliction that I began to believe he really was an actor with cerebral palsy. And his eyes...my God, he can rip you apart with them.

This movie is, to paraphrase Rory, f****n' amazing. Go see it. Take a box of Kleenex and enjoy every well-earned tear...and laugh.

What a unique and risky premise: two young men, both mentally astute but almost completely disabled with MS and cerebral palsy, leave the group home environment to get their own place in search of independence, romance and excitement. This is a story of friendship, love, and self-awareness. It has less to do with handicaps than with the development and growth of two unique and memorable characters.

Damien O'Donnell's directing keeps the story moving briskly, but it's James McAvoy as the eponymous Rory O'Shea who steals the show with his bravura performance and riveting screen presence, even though he's only acting with his face and two fingers. Steven Robinson is nearly as good as Michael Connelly, the MS patient who Damien befriends at the home. It really is hard to believe these two fine actors aren't truly paralyzed. (Some of the audience thought they were.) Romola Gorai is the most likable of the bunch (how politically incorrect!) as the blonde the boys meet in a bar and convince to become their paid caretaker.

O'Donnell manages to tell this story with extraordinary grace and humor. In the process, he shatters some of our expectations about the physically handicapped, while never forgetting to entertain us. Thank you, and bravo!

Who could have thought a non-disabled actor could act so realistically and immensely powerfully as a disabled person in a film? Probably someone. But no-one, truly no-one, could ever compare their expectations with the amazingly emotive and powerful performance given by the two actors in this film.

Michael (Steven Robertson) lives in a home for disabled people. He has Cerebral Paulsy, and as shown to us right at the beginning, he has huge trouble communicating. So it truly is a lifeline when fellow disabled member Rory (James McAvoy) who can speak normally, understands him. Thus starts off a friendship that relies mainly on (ironically enough) communication.

In a hilarious scene, they manage to move out of the home into their own. After Rory had been rejected, good hearted Michael put forward an application to move into his own house. Rory, who already had a bad name with the "judges", was to be his interpreter.

But troubles soon come about. They begin good-heartedly stalking a girl who they met in a pub a while back, wanting her to be their assistant to do the little things that matter. She at first is reluctant; she does not know these men, but seems they could be harmless; so strikes up another friendship, but not necessarily a good one...

As well as being poignant, however, this film really does rely on the actors. But that isn't a bad thing. For a non disabled actor, you see Rory, though he can communicate properly, frustrated at the way he's completely dependant on other people, and has no real life of his own. But the real star for me is Steven Robertson. He acts with such emotion, yearning to fit in and sadness/happiness, that really sees him win over the whole entire film.

Excellent.

Overall: 5 out of 5

I saw this film with some friends of mine and i was totally blown away by the magnificent acting and a heart warming (and at times wrenching)script. The characters of Rory and Michael were as different as you could get yet somehow they just worked perfectly together.

I work in a cinema and so have seen many films this year but there is something about Inside I'm Dancing that has completely captured my imagination and I left the cinema thinking about issues that i've never really thought about before and i realized what a good life I have.

In a nutshell if you want a movie to make you laugh, cry, feel happiness, joy, anger and question your life then you have to see Inside i'm Dancing.

I can't wait for the DVD and hope this becomes a classic because it deserves to be.

Michael (played by Steven Robertson) has cerebal palsy, and lives a quiet, and dull, life in Carrigmore Residential Home. When a newcomer to the home, Rory (McAvoy), befriends him, he proceeds to show Michael how to live past the disability. Despite, or maybe because of, Rory's crippling disability (unable to move all but his head and a few digits on his hand), Rory is fiercely independent, and extremely rebellious. His affect upon the quiet and reserve Michael is spectacular, and the two soon leave the care home to set up lives in the outside world, where they recruit the help of Siobhan (Romola Garai) as a care assistant.

This film is one of the gems of the year! Much like last year's In America, the film goes from being extremely funny, to distressing, touching, upsetting, and truly moving without once seeming saccharine sweet. Knowing exactly where to tug at the heartstrings, and where to simply let the story, and characters, do their thing, O'Donnell has crafted a wonderful film which tells us all to look past the surface, and see what lies within.

The true strengths of the film come in the lead actors. So convincing are their characters that you truly do believe that they are disabled. To further manage to convey humor and sorrow on top of the already great performances is amazing. The pair really seem close friends, and as their tale unfolds you care completely for them.

This is definitely one of the finest examples of film this year, telling a very relevant story in a simple way. If this film fails to touch your heart, then you must contain pure ice inside.