Redemption of a Rogue

A truly original story based on biblical tales, so maybe not that original? But the interpretation is.

I couldn't fault the directing, every scene seems to be thought out to the nth degree with some very clever results and edits. I was hooked from the start and this film flew past, never a boring moment.

It's interesting that despite the low ratings every written review is highly positive. I figure that the low raters just don't have the intellect or attention span to understand a film without car chases and shoot outs or write anything at all?

The UK & Ireland have a wealth of excellent low budget Indie cinema, add this to the list. The soundtrack is also a plus, some very classy tracks are added at just the right time. Mostly folk/indie/blues, yet the momentary appearance of Can's Vitamin C, a personal favourite, had me singing along longer than the clip lasted.

Irish humour is definitely a thing, as this film proves. Would it be too much of a stretch to make this film a UN cultural site?

If you're thick as a rotten spud or think the pop charts are all there is, avoid. If you're not and don't, lap it up.

With themes touching on suicidal depression, child abuse and illness, disability, physical violence, death and biblical levels of sin and redemption - you might conclude this wasn't exactly a laugh-fest.

However, the portrayal of those undeniably dark subjects is often framed by dry, 'gallows' humour, wrapped in occasional surreal dream imagery or some other imaginative visual take. There's no pretension here either - it's an indie film, but this is less art-house more rough-house after a night at the pub.

I laughed out loud several times (to put that in context I am not unacquainted with depression myself, or indeed the real-life results of a suicide, there is a gulf of difference between laughing with these 'victims' and at them).

The soundtrack is pretty decent if you're into alt-blues/indie-folk, there are some scenes where it almost descends into a psych-musical (I wouldn't have minded it going further down that road).

Whilst the dark humour often works, and there is something approaching a positive take on redemption - there was, for me, also a prevalent undertone of near-nihilism - like the main protagonist - the film is navigating a perilous balancing act between hope and hopelessness.

To counter this, the line: 'You can think of multiple reasons to die, but only need one reason to live' could be offered as the spiritual core - also, sometimes you just have to laugh at the absurdity of life.

How the hell did they shoot a movie that takes place in the rain for 45K?

Saw this at Garden state film festival. Loved it. Truly funny and has some great music.

Dark humour, heartbreak and sadness. A wonderful handcrafted tale that is as far from Hollywood as you can get. I can't wait to see what Doherty does next.

This is a jet black, absurdist comedy that works surprisingly well.

I would say that 'deeply traumatised man' would be a more accurate than 'rogue'. For varying reasons Aaron Monaghan's character is an outsider. Some reasons are personal and traumatic, some are public and enormously petty. Either way he's not in a good place. When the first thing you do when returning to your home town is buy some rope to hang yourself with, it says something. It also says something that the shop keeper gives sensible suicidal advice.

The black comedy tone is continued with a throwaway gag about child abuse and a serious discussion about the best way to maim someone. This is not a film to be approached lightly, but in my opinion it is one that works.

A surreal, deadpan, stylised gem.