L'ombra della violenza

... of crime and retribution in a small, provincial, Irish town. The misguided, misled and educationally challenged enforcer for the local drug dealing family takes a decision that may well jeopardise the relationship he desires with his autistic son, at the same time his ex partner is doing the same. A top performance from Cosmo Jarvis as the family's muscle; I was reminded of his equally brilliant performance in Lady Macbeth.

First off the performance of Cosmo Jarvis is the stand out in this movie. He has a feel of Tom Hardy about him and I'd tip him for big things in the future.

I was a bit worried going in that there might be a language barrier as the Irish accent can get a bit thick but it wasn't a problem for me.

The story is pretty standard, a crime family taking retribution on a local miscreant but transplanting it from the streets of New York or LA to rural Ireland gives the movie a wild west feel. My only criticism is the ending is a little predictable, in fact all but inevitable. I would have liked to have had my expectations subverted in that respect.

Great Irish film making, intense, emotional, and gritty!

This was an intense and well-made crime drama with excellent performances. Barry Keoghan delivers as do the actors who play the diabolical uncles. There are a few spots that unnecessarily slow down the pacing, but overall this is relatively taut and impressive for a lower-budget indie. Nick Rowland's direction was spot on. This film is well worth taking a ride on.

Painful -not as in painful to watch, but in every other sense. This is a film of hurt. Destructive upbringings, hurt emotions, painful beatings, dysfunctional lives. A disturbing film. As someone else said, in the same league as Dead Man's Shoes. There's redemption here too, though. Well worth a watch.