My Review - My Sailor My Love
In Cinemas now. My Rating. 8/10
Irish Cinema is booming at the moment I think it's because it manages to combine simple entertaining human interest stories with relatable characters that resonate with discerning audiences who are tired of violence or action hero cardboard cut out characters in movies devoid of any pathos or humour .
My Sailor My Love has the look and mood of European cinema not surprising as this movie is a combined project of Irish and Finnish and Belgium cinema .
Skilfully directed by Klaus Haro who received the Ingmar Bergman Award in 2003 and was chosen by Ingmar Bergman himself.
This is a mature age love story filmed in County Mayo on the Galway Coast with three excellent finely nuanced performances from James Cosmo who plays Howard an elderly retired sea Captain , Catherine Walker cast as Grace his complex and possessive daughter who employs Annie as a housekeeper to her gruff and unapproachable father.
Annie is delightfully played by Brid Brennan who I recall from movies like Brooklyn 2015 and Dancing at Lughnasa 1998.
The trio of characters in this story bring with them a suite of complex emotions the daughter Grace has deep unresolved issues from childhood when Howard her sea captain father went to sea leaving her with her unwell mother.
Grace now sole carer of her father at the expense of her own marriage employs Annie as housekeeper against her fathers wishes then becomes bitterly resentful when Annie usurps her role and manages what she can't do to thaw out her fathers withdrawn and austere attitude to life.
Annie is a compassionate widow and Grandmother who soon shows the rough and rude Howard when he offers her more money than Grace to stay away and not come back that she can manage very well without the abuse of another male in her life .
Set in Achill Island and County Mayo this movie is a joy to watch the score by Michelino Bisceglia is so effective and the screenplay by Jimmy Karlsson and Kirsi Vikman is excellent .
I'm so glad independent movies with great casts and relatively modest production budgets that feature great actors that are not necessarily huge box office names can still be made.
