In cinemas; Cert 15A
David O’Hara and Ollie West in ‘The Sparrow’
Icy and unsettling, Michael Kinirons’s award-winning feature debut is a tricky one to talk about. Say too little and this patchy yet admirable psychological drama might go unnoticed; say too much and you risk spoiling a unique premise.
Newcomer Ollie West is Kevin Coyle, a sombre 17-year-old from Baltimore, Co Cork, who can’t seem to stay out of trouble.
His dad Larry (David O’Hara) is an army veteran with a nasty temper. His brother Robbie (an excellent Éanna Hardwicke), is destined to follow in his old man’s footsteps. Mum is no longer around and nobody is allowed to talk about her. An intriguing set-up, then, for a tense familial drama. But there is more.
When an unspeakable tragedy occurs, poor Kevin faces a difficult choice: tell everyone what happened, or hold on tight to a debilitating secret.
A fearless, fascinating tale of narrow-minded fathers and broken-hearted sons, The Sparrow sometimes reminded me of Lenny Abrahamson’s What Richard Did. It’s an unusual film, heavy handed and melodramatic, but beautifully shot and neatly performed. Seek it out.
Three stars