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Last weekend’s Oscars ceremony was a largely uneventful affair, certainly compared to previous years. The notable moments it did have were all about the two things that it should be centring on; the films and the people. In terms of the movies this was by turns delightful as with the performance of ultimately winning song Naatu Naatu, or slightly awkward like with the inclusion of ‘Cocaine Bear’. Seriously it wasn’t even the right type of bear, the one in the film is a North American Black but this was clearly an Alaskan Brown. At least the donkey looked the same. With respect to the people, any time Ke Huy Quan was on stage was a highlight but there was also M. M. Keeravani singing his acceptance speech and everyone joining in with a rendition of Happy Birthday for James Martin, the lead actor of the Short Film winner An Irish Goodbye.
I do wonder if the directors of the short in question would have instigated this if Martin wasn’t Downs. There is something in singing Happy Birthday to someone that feels like it is related to childhood and people with Downs do too often get infantilised. Actor and husband of nominee Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance was there and it was his birthday too but no one sang to him. (Mind you after losing to Jamie Lee Curtis, Bassett didn’t look like she was in the mood.) Still, maybe Martin loved it and I’m just making unfair assumptions.
The reason I raise it though is because of the contrast with how Martin’s condition is not made anything of in the movie. The suggestion that he might need looking after is part of the narrative but they could have made this necessary for any number of reasons so it is kind of incidental that he has a registered disability. The fact that the film doesn’t in any way patronise the actor does make me think that the film makers weren’t either. Martin is one of just three actors in the piece and they are all excellent. Mostly the plot centres on two brothers who have just lost their mother and An Irish Goodbye is a delightful and masterly mix of pathos and wit.
I don’t want to say too much because this is best discovered for yourself, and with it being on iPlayer and only 22 minutes long there is absolutely no reason for you not to. It is a wonderful example of this kind of storytelling though, managing the short running time perfectly. The pacing and efficient character development are spot on and it feels longer than it is without dragging for a second.
The much nominated Banshees of Inishiren won nothing on Sunday but this shares some sensibility with McDonagh’s celebrated film. Obviously it has the same geographical setting but it also has a similarly brilliant balance of drama and dark humour. If anything it is done more subtly here and An Irish Goodbye should stand as a great springboard for it’s writer director duo Ross White and Tom Berkeley. We saw a directing pair win the big awards this year and maybe these two might be in the conversation some time in the future too. Based on what they have made here, that would certainly not be a slap in the face.
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The Ripley Factor:
This short film might essentially be a double hander between two men but there is a female voice here that is key throughout. I have decried movies before where the main contribution of the most important female character is to have died before it even starts, something you might refer to as the Rebecca Principle, but here, partly because of the slight duration, it doesn’t feel like she is sidelined at all. This is actually a lovely tale of how our love for those we have lost lives on and continues to draw us together.
Oh stop listening to me, just watch it.
The Not Left Handed Film Guide 