A Quiet Love ★★★★☆
Directed by Garry Keane. Starring John, Agnes, Kathy, Michelle, Séan, Deyanna. 12A cert, limited release, 95 min
Touching Irish documentary on struggles facing three deaf couples in very different situations. John and Agnes explain how, as Protestant and Catholic, they endured the sectarianism of the Troubles. Kathy and Michelle, now living in England, talk us through raising a deaf and hearing child. Seán, with the help of Deyanna, faces a dilemma on his journey to a professional boxing licence. Some may baulk at the sweetness, but cinemagoers are, particularly at this grim time of the year, allowed a degree of unapologetic positivity. A deeply humane piece commendably fond of its charming subjects. Full review DC
Send Help ★★★★☆
Directed by Sam Raimi. Starring Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Emma Raimi, Dennis Haysbert. 15A cert, gen release, 113 min
Raimi is on top form with a characteristic comedy shocker that strands underappreciated worker McAdams and insufferable boss Dylan O’Brien on a desert island. Send Help is something of a parlour game – a structure that gives permission for its characters to become whatever suits the latest unlikely swerve. O’Brien, so good in the recent Twinless, relishes that opportunity. McAdams steps up and manages to make a disgraceful heroine of a character who, in a less proudly cynical film, might lose the audience after one moral transgression too far. Trash this classy doesn’t come along often enough. Full review DC
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My Father’s Shadow ★★★★☆
Directed by Akinola Davies jnr. Starring Sope Dirisu, Chibuike Marvellous Egbo, Godwin Egbo. 12A cert, gen release, 94 min
Set on June 24th, 1993, the day Nigeria’s first democratic election in years was annulled, this touching, packed film follows two young brothers, Akin and Remi (Egbo and Egbo), whose paper-doll restagings of WWF matches initially eclipse their native country’s political upheaval. On a trip to Lagos with their dad, life-changing personal events parallel the public. My Father’s Shadow, coproduced by Element Pictures, is not a conventional political drama. Instead it quietly marries personal and national histories, offering a deceptively sprawling portrait of Lagos, a family and the fragile, frantic ways people try to hold on against tyranny. Full review TB
Twinless ★★★★☆
Directed by James Sweeney. Starring Dylan O’Brien, James Sweeney, Aisling Franciosi, Chris Perfetti, Francois Arnaud, Tasha Smith. 15A cert, limited release, 100 min
Roman (O’Brien) is no longer a twin. The death of his identical brother, Rocky, glimpsed later in flashback, is flagged by a surreal funeral during which mourners mistake Roman for his deceased sibling. The dark graveside comedy sets the offbeat tone for this second feature from the writer and director James Sweeney. The plot really kicks off when Roman ends in a “twin bereavement group” with the acid-tongued Dennis (Sweeney). The former is blunt, emotionally volatile and dumb as a rock; the latter is quick, self-aware and flamboyant. It’s a neat complementary partnership that delivers endless dividends. Full review TB
