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RORY O'SHEA WAS HERE Send This Review to a Friend
By way of heartily recommending “Rory O’Shea Was Here,” I want to cite an incident in which the late Donald Rugoff, a theater owner and film distributor who helped pioneer showing artistic films in New York, phoned when he heard I had liked a film called “Long Ago Tomorrow” and in fear of people being turned off, pleaded that I not mention in my review that the key characters were paralyzed. I laughed and told Don that was an impossible request. I had to describe the film.
Let’s get right to the heart of the matter. Rory O’Shea is paralyzed and Michael Connelly, the other man using a wheelchair, is a cerebral palsy victim. If you let dealing with the disabled deter you from seeing “Rory O’Shea Was Here,” you will be depriving yourself of a powerful, uplifting, emotionally involving and sometimes even humorous film that is among the best. The story and the acting combine to make seeing the drama a welcome and memorable experience.
Steven Robertson gives a riveting performance as Michael, who is confined to a home for the disabled in Dublin. Speaking is a tremendous effort for him, and others have trouble understanding him. James McAvoy also gives a strong performance as the newcomer Rory, who is resentful of his own paralysis and fights back by being a wise guy and making mischief in anyway he can. He is able to understand Michael and translates for him. A friendship forms between them, but Rory leads Michael into trouble. Still, that spices up Michael’s life and he is having a better time. The young men manage to convince a reluctant board to approve their living on their own. Brenda Fricker, ably playing the supervisor at the home, sees nothing but difficulties ahead if they go off on their own.
In their new private setup, they hire a young, inexperienced woman to assist them. When we meet Siobhán, played in a lovely, sensitive performance by the beautiful Romola Garai, we can sense trouble. She is very sweet to both without meaning to arouse them emotionally or sexually. Michael is particularly vulnerable to her charm and devotion. Rory becomes resentful of this and does his best to manipulate the situation into a destructive one.
The film, smartly written by Jeffrey Caine and astutely directed by Damien O’Donnell, effectively depicts the difficulty for young men with handicaps to come to terms with life and probes the psychological underpinnings of what they go through. It focuses, too, on the bond of friendship that develops between Michael and Rory even though they are so unalike, and it also examines how a well-intentioned young woman attempts to be as nice and devoted as she can without her efforts being misinterpreted. The drama has sensitivity written all over it, and thanks to the quality and intensity of the film, it is always involving and opens a window for us into the lives of the intriguing characters. This is one of those rare films not to be missed. A Focus Features release.
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