Patrick's Day

Director Terry McMahon courted controversy in 2011 with his debut, a satirical thriller called Charlie Casanova. A film he described as his 'punk rock statement', it was a feature made for the impressive sum of E1000 with the aid of a cast and crew assembled mostly through Facebook. Casanova was more than a bit rough around the edges, but McMahon kept that provocative streak for his second effort - and caused a stir for all the right reasons.

Patrick's Day tells the story of Patrick (Moe Dunford) a young man in his late twenties who suffers from schizophrenia. We open at Dublin's St. Patrick's Day parade with Patrick on day release from the institution he calls home, having a day out with Mother Maura (Kerry Fox) to celebrate his birthday. Together they enjoy a fun fair, buy novelty hats , eat candy floss and do everything you would do with a ten year old on his birthday. But when Patrick and Maura get separated in the crowd, Patrick meets Karen (Catherine Walker) who is a bit tipsy and takes a liking to him. 'I have schizophrenia,' he feels compelled to blurt out to her, 'Sure haven't we all?' is her response. Patrick falls for Karen, to Maura's horror. She drives her son back to the institution, and even enlists a detective (Philip Jackson) to help her convince him that Karen is merely one of his delusions. Patrick is rocked, forced to confront the draconian way he is treated because of his illness, and is compelled to escape and find her. Or at least find out if she's fictitious.

Patrick's Day is a remarkable piece addressing the lingering stigma surrounding mental illness, and a mentally ill person's right to intimacy. It is a fiercely humane drama, one of those rare ones that shatters you then sets you soaring, all the more moving for extending it's understanding toward well-meaning antagonist Maura. And that's not an easy task, in a film reminiscent of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. The writing is snappy ('Only a woman could demolish you with a compliment,' grumbles Jackson's beleaguered detective) and it's well shot too, McMahon and DoP Michael Lavelle filling it with expressive images.

A vital and thought-provoking piece, it gave me a new perspective and made me re-think my attitude towards the topic and people in my life, and there's no higher praise than that. Not that there's no lightness to the film - 'Patrick is a twenty-six year old schizophrenic virgin...' was the entirety of the blurb for it at my local cinema, and that captures this film's mischievous spirit.

I didn't know what to expect from this small Irish film, but I was blown away by its script and acting. Patrick's Day was extremely well- received by the audience at its world premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. This setup that the story is about a mentally ill man's quest to find love turns out to be much more complex as the role that his mother plays in his life becomes clear. The film explores issues such as the meaning of intimacy, memory, sanity and love. Writer/Director Terry McMahon has done an excellent job of exploring these issues and Moe Dunford does a beautiful job in the lead role. This is the type of gem that one can often find at a festival like SXSW, but which often have a difficult time getting wider distribution. I hope this small film gets wider distribution, because more people really need to think about the complicated issues that it raises.

I'd been wanting to see Patrick's Day from the moment I read about it. I have vivid memories of how affected I'd been by Terry McMahon's previous film, Charlie Casanova. I've followed the progress of Patrick's Day on social media, and was frustrated at the time it took to be shown in England. Thanks to the Tricycle for supporting its first London screening, I had the privilege to see Patricks Day in my home town last weekend. What an extraordinary film it is! One measure of a film for me is how many times during the screening that I 'leave' the film and think for myself. I was captured from the first frame as Patrick, in his own world, wheels a supermarket trolley around the store. From that moment I was completely drawn into Patrick's (Moe Dunford) world. Moe was utterly compelling as Patrick, as was Kerry Fox, who played his mother. Terry always takes on challenging subjects, and a film about a schizophrenic is as challenging as it comes. I came away from the cinema quite shaken, and moved by my experience. I'm not a film critic, but I know what I like. I'm also not a cinematographer, but I know sublime visual storytelling when I see it, and I know sublime visual moments when they are offered, like a gift. If you want to be challenged, and asked questions; if you want to be drawn into both anger and sadness, and then dumped back into a seat in a cinema, alone but surrounded by people who have just undergone the same emotional ride as you, then see this film! Haters will always hate, but if you have a gramme of decency and compassion you will be moved to a new understanding by Patrick's Day. If you don't then I recommend Jeremy Kyle.

I saw Patrick's Day last night in Dublin! I've been looking forward to seeing this movie for a long time mainly because I admire Terry McMahon the writer/director. What he did with his first movie Charlie Casanova was one of the most inspirational stories of the recession. Getting it made and then picked up by studio canal at a time when everything seemed impossible, was a fist pumping "get in there" achievement! Terry should be a hero for any independent filmmaker and indeed any artist with the desire to undertake a project that's immense and insurmountable while encumbered by the economic vicissitudes of reality today. Taking all that into account I probably would've been happy enough if Patrick's day just didn't suck. I know the film has won awards and was lauded by many influential people who appear in the marketing material that wild-card distribution are using. But I'm afraid, I've become a cynic of late. I just don't believe anything that I read or see on the Internet any more, least of all anyone's self promotion. Despite my newly found cynicism I bought my ticket and popcorn, picked a seat in the middle of the middle of the theatre and strapped myself in for an experience where I knew absolutely anything could happen. I found over the years that when it comes to watching Irish made films, I've had to dramatically lower my standards and just watch it as a probably scarlet, Paddy flick and allowances would have to be made for its myriad flaws! Patrick's Day is not one of these movies, no dropped standards or allowances were required! Indeed all the balls stayed firmly in the air throughout. Not a scarlet moment, does it have! It sounds great, it looks great and it tells a riveting story which although it is original, it's dripping with the stuff of universal human condition! I'm not going to give anything away about the plot, I think the less you know about it before you see it, the better! The DP Michael Lavelle did an outstanding job! I don't remember walking away from many Irish films before, thinking about how the colour palettes were used to reflect the different moods of the characters. Is it usual to watch an independent movie and come away musing on one-point prospective and the symmetry of staging? I don't think so! They use some very clever camera work with first person perspective shots slipping in and out of focus to visually represent to the audience moments of intoxication or madness! In another quite magical and incredibly intimate scene the DP manipulates background light to create these abstract shapes conveying erotic human union. That might sound a bit artsy fartsy but it's not because none of the techniques are gratuitous and the pace of the movie never drops enough for you to put your bitchy critical hat on! The sound-design, effects and tracks were all perfectly and seamlessly mixed together. This sounds like a platitude but audio is one area where an indie-movie can let itself down tragically. On the contrary, here I believe the whole sound department did a whopper job with more than a couple of stand out 'wow that's really impressive audio' moments. At times reminding me of a Joe Wright movie like Atonement because at cretin subtle audio effects are ratcheted up in the moment up to assault the senses for dramatic effect! Patrick's Day is Patrick Fitzgerald's story! Patrick is a schizophrenic man in his mid 20s who's been institutionalised for most of his life! Moe Dunford plays the part just like a fully-fledged movie star. For a relatively unknown actor it's ridiculous that he has such a strong camera presents! I have no doubt that we'll be seeing Moe again on the big screen, he's a proper actor who brought the good stuff to every scene! Kerry Fox who played Patrick's mother Maura was also very good as was Catherine Walker who played the love interest Karen Prescott. It's a story about mental health, sexuality, parenting, lies, control, authority, betrayal, violence and truth but it's primarily about love! Love under madness or madness under love! It's a provocative, compelling story, which skips along with nimble pace, only stopping to labour a point when some captivating acting demands it. There are some extraordinary scenes throughout the movie showcasing exceptional acting skill! You can see the actor's motivations and objectives, the obstacles in front of them and exactly what they're prepared to do to overcome these obstacles. During the 102 min's, I was moved to tears, laughed out loud a few times and even managed to squeeze in a fist pump. This movie isn't for pussies, it's a deliberate attack on the scenes and it will stay with you for some time afterword. This director is someone who is never short of something to say, so I found it remarkable that the same man makes choices with his direction, which favour showing over telling, again and again. As the writer, he's in every frame of the movie and the choices always appear to be objective, there's a definite reason why everything is done. He's telling us something, something gross and something subtle with the faintest whisper of the writers devices and chicanery, left only for the very perceptive to notice! This is a really good movie, it ticks so many boxes that it's easy to see why it swept the boards at all the festivals. I'm Very proud of Terry and Moe and everyone else involved, looking forward to seeing it again and I'm also super excited about what Terry will do next. Make sure you go to see it and support Irish Film.

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.