Inside I'm Dancing

I just witnessed a movie that by all rights should have been fodder for a second rate MOW on Lifetime...but trust the Irish to keep it from being anything but saccharine. The set-up all but SCREAMS "Here's a message concerning what's TRULY important in life" but the execution was way into the "Let's see just what we can get away with, here."

It helps to have two fantastic actors in the leads -- James McAvoy (as Rory) and Stephen Robertson (as Michael). While Rory is offered up as the near saintly one -- never mind the language and attitude, he's the "life force" in this piece and could easily have been insufferable in his ultimately "caring" attitude -- McAvoy keeps him sharp enough to keep him from being too sweet. But the revelation is Stephen Robertson as Michael. Not since Leonardo Di Caprio in "...Gilbert Grape" has anyone so perfectly captured a person with an affliction that I began to believe he really was an actor with cerebral palsy. And his eyes...my God, he can rip you apart with them.

This movie is, to paraphrase Rory, f****n' amazing. Go see it. Take a box of Kleenex and enjoy every well-earned tear...and laugh.

"Rory O'Shea Was Here (Inside I'm Dancing)" is a marvelous lead showcase for the talented James McAvoy who up to now has been a cocky secondary character in movies such as "Wimbledon" and memorable television such as "State of Play." But there his bad boy brashness is supported by a whirlwind of movement and sensuality whereas here all he can use in portraying a spark plug with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is his voice and expressions. His "Rory" takes hold of a condescending home for "special people" the way Jack Nicholson shook up the mental ward in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." He is a rebel with a cause -- freedom.

Steven Robertson as the pal he dynamites out of perhaps too simple complacency is achingly convincing as a young man with cerebral palsy who gradually learns he has a potential to fulfill, emotionally and intellectually.

The film is particularly good at creating very individual characters with specific family and class situations, as well as making good use of the Dublin environment.

While there are some clichés along the way, as well as a few overly convenient plot points, the film with humor, liveliness and poignancy (and a cool soundtrack) sticks our face in large issues about the helping bureaucracy, the need to individuate independent living opportunities, with particular attention to age differences, and our attitudes about the physically disabled.

Michael (played by Steven Robertson) has cerebal palsy, and lives a quiet, and dull, life in Carrigmore Residential Home. When a newcomer to the home, Rory (McAvoy), befriends him, he proceeds to show Michael how to live past the disability. Despite, or maybe because of, Rory's crippling disability (unable to move all but his head and a few digits on his hand), Rory is fiercely independent, and extremely rebellious. His affect upon the quiet and reserve Michael is spectacular, and the two soon leave the care home to set up lives in the outside world, where they recruit the help of Siobhan (Romola Garai) as a care assistant.

This film is one of the gems of the year! Much like last year's In America, the film goes from being extremely funny, to distressing, touching, upsetting, and truly moving without once seeming saccharine sweet. Knowing exactly where to tug at the heartstrings, and where to simply let the story, and characters, do their thing, O'Donnell has crafted a wonderful film which tells us all to look past the surface, and see what lies within.

The true strengths of the film come in the lead actors. So convincing are their characters that you truly do believe that they are disabled. To further manage to convey humor and sorrow on top of the already great performances is amazing. The pair really seem close friends, and as their tale unfolds you care completely for them.

This is definitely one of the finest examples of film this year, telling a very relevant story in a simple way. If this film fails to touch your heart, then you must contain pure ice inside.

What a unique and risky premise: two young men, both mentally astute but almost completely disabled with MS and cerebral palsy, leave the group home environment to get their own place in search of independence, romance and excitement. This is a story of friendship, love, and self-awareness. It has less to do with handicaps than with the development and growth of two unique and memorable characters.

Damien O'Donnell's directing keeps the story moving briskly, but it's James McAvoy as the eponymous Rory O'Shea who steals the show with his bravura performance and riveting screen presence, even though he's only acting with his face and two fingers. Steven Robinson is nearly as good as Michael Connelly, the MS patient who Damien befriends at the home. It really is hard to believe these two fine actors aren't truly paralyzed. (Some of the audience thought they were.) Romola Gorai is the most likable of the bunch (how politically incorrect!) as the blonde the boys meet in a bar and convince to become their paid caretaker.

O'Donnell manages to tell this story with extraordinary grace and humor. In the process, he shatters some of our expectations about the physically handicapped, while never forgetting to entertain us. Thank you, and bravo!

In Dublin, the crippled rebel Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy) moves to the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, affecting the lives of the residents. Roy is able to understand the unintelligible speech of Michael Connolly (Steven Robertson), who was left in the shelter by his prominent father many years ago due to his cerebral palsy, and they become close friends. Rory convinces Michael to move from Carrigmore to an apartment in Dublin, and they hire the gorgeous Siobhan (Romola Garai) to assist them. Living together with Rory, Michael faces a new world, finding friendship, love and freedom and learning to survive by his own.

"Inside I'm Dancing" is a wonderful tale of friendship and freedom in a very beautiful story. The acting of Steven Robertson and James McAvoy are awesome and I do not understand how they have not been nominated to the Oscar with such magnificent performances. Romola Garai has also a top-notch performance and is extremely beautiful and sexy. The screenplay is touching, never corny and without redemption and the precise direction of Damien O'Donnell is very sensitive. Unfortunately the Brazilian title of the DVD is shamefully ridiculous, giving a wrong idea of this excellent movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Os Melhores Dias de Nossas Vidas" ("The Best Years of Our Lives")