Rose (a stunning Ann Skelly) is a troubled veterinary student in Dublin who appears to be obsessed with an actor, Ellen (Orla Brady). She has tried contacting her, but is nervous to speak. When they finally talk, Rose reveals that she is the daughter Ellen abandoned. Initially unwilling to acknowledge her, Ellen finally relents, but advises Rose that histories are sometimes hidden for a reason.
Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s previous features Helen and Mister John, along with their inspired documentary Further Beyond, all interrogate the notion of identity and the way personal history interacts within the wider story of community or society. Here, they employ the conventions of a thriller to brilliant effect, as a way to weave tother the relationship between Rose and Ellen, to gradually reveal the latter’s past and to bring it violently into the present. It’s an impressive achievement, aided in no small part by the performances of Skelly, Brady and Aidan Gillen.
