Reviews

Enjoyable romp through planet Baumbach, although not quite as successful as The Squid and the Whale. If self-absorbed and angst-ridden wealthy liberals can be tapped for witty dialogue, Noah's your man, and this one is a slight departure in that it has a nice dog and (more importantly) a charming lead in the shape of Greta Gerwig - who offers a great foil to the unrelentingly narcissistic Greenberg. Rhys Ifans seems a bit lost, given that his character is not turned up to 11, and Jennifer Jason Leigh is only fleetingly present, so doesn't get much to do. LA makes a change from New York, though the sensibility is very much of the NYC (of Baumbach) transposed.

Surprise film at the Dublin Film Festival, and the best one I've seen for many's the year.

I worried that Pavee Lakeen would fall at one of two hurdles; either do-gooder worthiness in covering the subject matter, or the hokey staged quality often associated with both 'docu-dramas' and use of non-professional actors. No need to concern yourself on either count.

The fiction/documentary thing works to the degree that you forget you're looking at something that isn't pure documentary. The professional actors don't stick out like sore thumbs, and the feel of the entire film is very naturalistic.

In avoiding the urge to moralise, and investing so much time and effort in capturing the essence of the Maughan's day-to-day life, Perry Ogden has produced a real gem of a film. He managed to produce something that takes the qualities of his social reportage photography work, and extends it naturally into cinema. For a first feature, it exhibits nothing of the excessive tinkering you sometimes find. Ogden was blessed with a photogenic lead, but he avoids leaning on the aesthetic crutch he might have done.

The film isn't big on narrative, and don't go expecting plot resolutions, or arcs, or whatever. It's a great intimate snapshot of a girl's life, a family, and (unexpectedly) a city, in this moment in time. The 'issues' that the film touches on are handled with a light touch, and all the better for it.

One warning; I don't know if the film is shown with subtitles outside Ireland, but the accent/dialect of the Travellers will challenge some.