An Irish Goodbye

source: An Irish Goodbye

It ended up being a bad night for The Banshees of Inisherin as it walked away empty handed at the Oscars 2023. However An Irish Goodbye won the best live action short Oscar. One of its star James Martin who has Downs Syndrome, had Happy Birthday sung to him by the rest of the auditorium on Oscar night. Martin plays Lorcan who is not all alone after the death of his mother. His brother Turlough (Seamus O'Hara) has returned from England to attend the funeral. Both brothers have been estranged. Turlough plans to sell the family farm, place Lorcan with their aunt and go back to England. Lorcan is not happy about all this. Father O'Shea finds their mother's bucket list, a hundred things to do. Lorcan manages to persuade his brother to do the bucket list and then he will go and live with his aunt. Of course the brothers bond as they carry out the tasks, some of them are silly such as posing for an artwork. There is some earthy language, it is low budget. A good performance from Martin but the short is not that original.

Firstly I want to just say on a surface level how beautiful, simple but well told story this short film tells. The sense of humour radiates warmth which contradicts the cool tones of the film's scenes. However! I wanted to highlight how important this film will be to actors with Down syndrome- showing the character of Lorcan as a fully established and complex character. I truly adored the film from start to finish. I am not a short film lover, however this film has completely changed my mind, the depth and emotion that is buried within 20 minutes is outstanding. And once again on a surface level, it truly demonstrates the beauty of Ireland.

An Irish Goodbye (2022) - This was an amusing little film, but I'm not sure that I would call it comical, because it's actually how a lot of people do interact, although I suppose that the priest was at least a humorous character, with all of his errors and slips ups. It was an enjoyable story of loss, love between brothers and how people move on in their grief. Was it so outstanding a story that it deserved an Oscar? I don't know? I've seen a lot of short films and many that have delivered more of a punch, but perhaps I'm looking for something different from the films that I watch. However, I couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't awarded because one of the lead actors was otherwise abled. Because of the farm setting and the somber tone of their Mothers death, I did feel that it bore some resemblance to 'Gods Own Country' (2017), although the two leads in that were obviously not brothers. It just had a similar vibe about it. As with a lot of short films there just wasn't enough of it to really get in to, in order to see whether it was good or not, with an extended plot it could be very well received and genuinely entertaining, not that this snippet of their lives wasn't fun too. What they managed to fit in to half an hour was good and there was plenty to laugh with, if not so much to laugh at. 629.84/1000.

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.

All the attention this year has been on the banshees of inisherin, a plodding and wooden film, yet this short film was streets ahead. It shows the interaction between a dedicated but handicapped lad and his disinterested brother. The relationship is fantastic and james martin himself should have gotten an Oscar for his part. Brilliantly played. I deliberately gave it one star less than a full 10, as the film had the appearances that it was actually shortened, possibly to ensure it was classified as a short film. But it would have been great to have it stretched to at least an hour. Far more believable than the dire banshees.

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.

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.

Of the five short films contending for this year's Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, this is the only one in English. Even so, it was the only one I had a hard time understanding the dialog, as the others all had captioning, while this one was heavy on the Irish brogue. Nevertheless, it was apparent that a pair of estranged brothers had reunited upon the death of their mother, with Lorcan (James Martin), having Downs Syndrome, testily arguing with brother Turlough (Seamus O'Hara) over the fate of the family farm, which Turlough wants to sell. It's where Lorcan lives, so you can understand his reluctance. An effusive Father O'Shea (paddy Jenkins) tries to mediate between the brothers with mixed results, while Lorcan runs through a list of a hundred things his mom wanted to do before she died. All the while, Lorcan protectively hugs the cremation urn their mother's ashes are in, even wielding it as the pair work through a pattern of tai chi. In a semi-climax, Lorcan drops the urn from a considerable height with the ashes spilling out, as Turlough places a 'For Sale' sign on the family homestead shortly after. The film elicits mixed emotions, though the humor and affection between the brothers shines through their relentless bickering. This Irish film is a contender for a 2023 Oscar in the category of Best Live Action Short Films. I was lucky enough to catch this short along with the four other contenders for this year's Academy Award at the Paramount Theater in Middletown, New York. If not for this limited showing, I don't know how else I would have been able to see it. So, Congratulations to the Paramount for making it available to enthusiastic cinema fans like me.

As we follow Turlough and Lorcan through their grief at their mother's death, with unexpected inspiration from Jesus' local representative - the boys find renewed faith in their love of one another. 'Mum's List' was never written down but was profound and far reaching ? As we follow Turlough and Lorcan through their grief at their mother's death, with unexpected inspiration from Jesus' local representative - the boys find renewed faith in their love of one another. 'Mum's List' was never written down but was profound and far reaching ? As we follow Turlough and Lorcan through their grief at their mother's death, with unexpected inspiration from Jesus' local representative - the boys find renewed faith in their love of one another. 'Mum's List' was never written down but was profound and far reaching ?