The Drummer and the Keeper

This Irish film is about a drummer (with Bipolar) who develops an unlikely friendship with a keeper (with Asperger's). The two leads delivered convincing performances and had excellent chemistry. The characters felt well developed and I found them believable.

Equal parts charming, depressive and heartwarming - I was engaged the whole time and rooting for each character to overcome their challenges. The film has a refreshing original vibe - even though some elements were predictable towards the end.

If you like Netflix's "Atypical" then you'll probably love this. Being a drummer myself, it added an extra layer of interest. "The Drummer and the Keeper" is an uplifting hidden gem that put a big smile on my face. Recommend!

I know it will be a film that stays with me for days.

I had the pleasure of seeing this wonderful movie at it's very first public screening at the Galway Film Festival and I was blown away. It's so captivating, funny, real, true to life with an emotional build in it that you cannot fail to connect with & be drawn into . The relationship between Gabriel & Christopher is so engrossing as on their own, they struggle to navigate their very different worlds but find a way to cope & move forward once their worlds cross paths & their friendship (with all its ups & downs) takes centre stage.

I have to also mention the music & how powerful it was throughout the movie. It was never overbearing but always there enhancing the feelings that maybe sometimes the characters were struggling to convey themselves.

The writer & director, Nick Kelly did such an amazing job with this. When I watched it on the big screen that evening, I could not believe it was his debut feature film. There are surely great things on the horizon for Nick as a creative force in the film industry. The prolonged & emotional standing ovation the movie got after that debut screening was something I had never witnessed or been a part of before & will not forget soon.

I really could not recommend this film more. Go and watch it, you won't regret it.

I watched this with my son who has Asperger's. He loved it and felt that while characteristics needed to be exaggerated the film got it right. He connected with the characters on so my levels and we laughed and cried together while watching. My adpie boy feels thus should be compulsory viewing for all secondary school children. A wonderful, fun movie

What a beautiful, heart-warming, poignant and funny gem of a film. It is very clear that the filmmaker knows his subject well. This sincerity shines through the laughter and the tears.

We saw this movie at the Capitol Irish Film Festival sponsored by Solas Nua and the American Film Institute. The friendship which is at the core of this film---between a rock drummer with bi-polar and a young man with Aspergers--who meet up on the football field (soccer, in the U.S.)---is as unlikely as it is life-changing. I couldn't help but be reminded of a long ago children's picture book by Barbara Cooney, called "Miss Rumphius" in which the title character talked about we all must do something to make the world a more beautiful place. Nick Kelly has done that with this film.