Review: Out of Here

Having returned from a gap year in Asia, Ciaran ( What Richard Did 's Fionn Walton) struggles to reconnect with his old chums and the girl he left behind. Recession Dublin is little or no fun for the ex-backpacker, who finds himself broke and living with his parents.

Oh, how we've waited for this day. Donal Foreman, one of Ireland's most exciting short film-makers, transitions to feature-length with no little aplomb.

Pundits and wags have already dragged out such qualifiers as "this year's Once " or "first Irish mumblecore". But Foreman's debut is very much its own thing. The profound, humorous and touching Out of Here has plenty to say about the state of the nation, masculinity and identity. That it can do so while keeping up lively, authentic banter is a marvel.

Note-perfect performances keep pace with the timeliness of the subject matter. Piers McGrail’s cinematography finds appealing new things to do with Dublin. The film never looks or feels as if it were made on a micro-budget, although it was, in fact, crowd-funded.

Where can we sign up to invest in the next one? Ireland expects.