Stunning work. The writing, direction, cinematography and acting are all remarkable. David Fincher talks of the difference between movies and films however the best of both blur the lines of each, and Patrick's Day does just that. From the very opening Patrick and his world are seen caged as we view them from the inside a shopping trolley Patrick pulls and pushes. Immediately it is obvious there is more than narrative at work. His world may be behind bars, but so are we. Static locked inside the trolley. We are pushed and pulled by him and his world, by him and his day, and by Terry McMahon's film. And if you have drowned so deep in Patricks Day and the madness of love by the ending that you have forgotten your part in it all...even then you will still find what you need. It's as open as Moe Dunford's performance. Moe who won many accolades for his Patrick is central to the creation of Terry McMahon's hyper-real dream. He is sublime.
As a piece of Irish Film, in keeping with the best of Irish Films, it could be set nowhere else and yet it's setting is irrelevant. It is a universal story being told where it needs to be. The passionate commentary and probing of a culture and society makes it immediately universal. There is not a single motif of the worst of Irish movies to be seen or thankfully heard. It stands to all critique, and unusually for a lot of Irish film it warrants and stands to a political, social and film reading. There are no post-modern laughs from a comedic social underclass. There is no easy trite targeting of the 'okayed' cultural targets. It's original. It's fresh. The writing and narrative are so strong that the 'movie' happens while the 'film' happens...seamlessly as one.
Is it masterpiece? No. Because after watching Terry McMahon's debut, zero-budget, punk, polemic, political critique 'Charlie Cassanova', and now watching this stunningly accessible yet multi-layered love story, which he created for next to nothing...you can only be excited by how good he could be with time and money. Perhaps this would be a masterpiece for some...but I hope the McMahon masterpiece is yet to come and I get to see it. But if all you ever did as a film maker was half of what these two films do...that'd be a victory.
Love is madness. Dive in.
As a piece of Irish Film, in keeping with the best of Irish Films, it could be set nowhere else and yet it's setting is irrelevant. It is a universal story being told where it needs to be. The passionate commentary and probing of a culture and society makes it immediately universal. There is not a single motif of the worst of Irish movies to be seen or thankfully heard. It stands to all critique, and unusually for a lot of Irish film it warrants and stands to a political, social and film reading. There are no post-modern laughs from a comedic social underclass. There is no easy trite targeting of the 'okayed' cultural targets. It's original. It's fresh. The writing and narrative are so strong that the 'movie' happens while the 'film' happens...seamlessly as one.
Is it masterpiece? No. Because after watching Terry McMahon's debut, zero-budget, punk, polemic, political critique 'Charlie Cassanova', and now watching this stunningly accessible yet multi-layered love story, which he created for next to nothing...you can only be excited by how good he could be with time and money. Perhaps this would be a masterpiece for some...but I hope the McMahon masterpiece is yet to come and I get to see it. But if all you ever did as a film maker was half of what these two films do...that'd be a victory.
Love is madness. Dive in.
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