Garage

Garage is a strange film, good but strange, its one of those films that can hold your attention despite nothing much really happening. It focuses on Josie, played by Pat Shortt, a garage attendant who isn't the shiniest tool in the box, he's harmless enough but his naivety means he is the butt of jokes and lives a very lonely existence. The town is small and everyone knows everyone and with no real friends Josie grasps at any interaction from talking to the local horse, his fleeting chats to long distance lorry driver Dan and to the blokes in the pub despite the fact they are obviously horrible to him. But it's when he gets David as his new young assistant at the garage that things start to change. Saddled with his own problems, adolescence, alienation, isolation and growing pains, David and Josie strike up a friendship, David thinks Josie is brilliant as he supplies him with beers after work and for Josie it's just someone to talk with but the seemingly harmless relationship starts to take a darker turn. With a script that is at times equal in its ability to make you laugh and feel uncomfortable the film is one which will not sit easy with some audiences, ultimately its bleakness may be a little too much for some. That said all the performances are great and while showing how the simple life can be complicated it also shows how beautiful the country Ireland is, but it's really all about the crippling loneliness that can affect us as humans and Shortt's mannerisms and portrayal are startling and in this respect it really is his film. Add to this the subtlety and calmingly paced direction and you have a gem of a movie that leaves a bitter but brilliant taste.

Garage is Lenny Abrahamson's 2007, award winning, (Prix Art et Essai) Irish drama, starring Pat Shortt. Shortt plays Josie, a simple, tragic character, that lives in and runs the garage in a Tipperary backwater, owned by his former schoolmate, Mr. Gallagher. His life changes over the course of one Summer, when Gallagher introduces him to a boy named David, his new workmate, and a flawed relationship begins to develop. The acting is the most realistic I've ever seen. Every character in this film is taken straight from real life. They might be fictional characters, but each and every one of them exist in villages and towns throughout Ireland. Josie might seem precious and quaint, but there are thousands out there exactly like him. Each role is played to almost frightening accuracy. The Garda, played by Denis Conway, was so real in his attitude and all his dialogue, that it sent chills up my spine. It was acted in an unnaturally close manner to that of a real Garda. The plot doesn't really go very far. It starts in much the same place as it finishes. Although, perhaps it finishes more poignantly than it starts, the poignancy lies in the character of Josie himself and is present throughout the film. Peter Robertson, the Director of Photography, did a superb job. The cinematography is excellent. It's all perfectly framed and captures a certain beauty of location, without losing any realism. Living in a similar location to where this was filmed, I can personally vouch for the accuracy of every aspect of this film. It's amazing. That, funnily enough, was my main reason for disliking this film. I watch films to escape from that sad reality, and it really isn't all that pleasant to have such a close to the bone film in front of your eyes. That was also why I hated Pat Shortt's comedy series, Killinascully. Indeed there are quite a few actors from Killinascully in Garage. People from my area (mainly tractor driving hicks) see things like Killinascully and take them as an instruction manual for life, rather than a comedy series mocking them. So, the main strength of this film, it's realism, is also, for me, it's greatest weakness. I really must congratulate the director on his accuracy, which was outstanding but not appealing to me. I'd say, if you want to know what rural Ireland is really like, watch this. If you live there, just go outside. Or preferably don't. I would recommend seeing this if just for seeing Pat Shortt in a non comedic role. It's a hugely interesting film that deserves to be taken very seriously. I just didn't find it a pleasure to watch. I'm giving it a 6 out of 10, but I'm certain it deserves more.

Josie works in a garage in a small town. He mans the gas pumps, sells the oils and the magazines to the travelers. Only, the town is so small and the road is so little traveled that he hardly has anything to do. Josie has also lived in this town all his life and has worked in this same garage for almost just as long. When his boss asks him to take on the weekends as well he is up for the task - and when his boss offers to send a kid as a helping hand he accepts that kid too. All in all, Josie is a very easy guy that takes the world for what it is. Too bad the world does not fully understand that.

Although somewhat predictable this film is a rather interesting one. The way the actors play out their roles make up for a glimpse of the grim reality people like Josie live in. All he wants is do good, all he gets is evil. The message is clear from the very start of the film but never starts to bore too much. This is purely due to the way the different characters get together and depict the pretty little village the film plays in - the message fits the persons and the town perfectly. When the ending comes it is dark and dreary, but fitting and only logical.

9 out of 10 good people making bad choices

I'm English but I lived in Ireland for 6 years until recently. Do not be fooled, Ireland today is not the vibrancy of Dublin or the bite of the Celtic tiger - like any country it is a mixture that has it's fair share of sad, empty and lonely places. This film attempts to portray this - and succeeds quite beautifully. The filmmakers are also "responsible" for the brilliant Adam and Paul -a snapshot of the struggle to live in modern day Dublin with a shocking drug habit... and Garage is no different - a few days in a life that tell us so much but share so little. The dialogue is sparse at best, just a nod and a smile to indicate friendship. The tiny visual clues show us one man's life in pictures - his lonely dinner (he bought one pork chop from the butcher) his wash in a sink. This film is one of those that is nothing and everything. I can't recommend it highly enough. Watch it and feel grateful that your life is full and vibrant. That it doesn't end with your putting your socks in your shoes...

This movie is visually stunning in design, almost like a moving painting. Pat Shortt who plays Josie, is just absolutely brilliant! His sense of purity and sincerity is consistently communicated. I have not been able to stop talking about the film since I watched it, and NEED to watch it again.

A quick comment on it's pacing. For me, a movie doesn't have to continually stimulate me to keep my attention. If the characters are riveting and the story movies at it's OWN pace, and not with my expectations, that's the whole goal. We are so commercialized with our expectations when it comes to movies, we've forgotten to just go along with it. Garage is a movie you just go along with. The Josie character is so sweet and pure, it's difficult not to have him affect you.

There are several topics I could bring up with regards to this movie, but one that stands out. How difficult it really must be for someone challenged. This movie is a microscopic look into this world. We talk about how alone we are in the world. But imagine having a disability in the process. This movie paints one perspective of what I would imagine it's like.

The overwhelming thing I noticed, was no one was helpful to Josie. As a human being, this disturbed me greatly! This movie shows perfectly, how amazing the world would be, if we just made a little effort, to help one another. Such little effort, to make such a big impact.

For someone to not understand and feel what Josie is going through, only supports the apathy that has seeded itself in our current lifestyles, and society as a whole to date.

RL