The Plot: Widow Roise (Brid Ni Neachtain) hasn’t quite moved on from the death of her husband Frank two years ago. She remains distracted and has somewhat disconnected from life in the rural community. One day, a lurcher-terrier breed dog shows up outside her house and seems overly interested in spending with her. At first, she’s confused as to why the dog keeps following her and then moves into her house. Then she notices that the dog exhibits unusual behaviour – sitting in Frank’s favourite chair, going to their favourite walking spot together, playing hurling with a local boy. Could it be that Frank has been reincarnated as a dog? Roise seems to think so, much to the dismay of her doctor son Alan (Cillian O’Gairbhi)…
The Verdict: Until recently, Irish language films had been few and far between and were otherwise relegated to the arthouse cinema. The Cine4 scheme is an initiative backed by TG4, Screen Ireland and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to develop films in the national language for a wider theatrical release. There has been a steady stream of them this year, most notably An Cailin Ciuin – which became something of a sleeper hit and is still playing in cinemas. One thing that has been consistent with Cine4 is the quality of the scripts going into production and the translation of them into a film that moves away from the television-level delivery that can sometimes be evident in the industry. The latest entry from the initiative is Roise & Frank, a deceptively simple film that pulls at the heartstrings in a gentle manner but also leaves considerable food for thought.
The script by co-directors Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy posits just what might happen if a grieving widow’s husband was reincarnated as an attentive, hurling-loving dog who wants to reconnect with his past life and the people he left behind. Admittedly, it’s a slight plot device that might otherwise be more suited to a quirky short film funded by Screen Ireland. That does seem to be the impression at first. How much narrative mileage can the co-writers/co-directors get out of this story and develop it to the point where it doesn’t come across as padded out? Quite a bit actually. The script is carefully developed one step at a time, teasing out the concept to the point where the audience simply accepts it without a logical explanation (a sprinkle of movie magic). This is done so subtly that it grows on the viewer as each scene between Roise and her late husband reveals a small detail of their previous, loving relationship. She remembers his last words to her – that his death is not the end of their love story.
It’s also not the end of Frank’s story. We see how his return to life as a dog touches the lives of others in the town – most notably a young boy with a promising career as a hurler ahead of him. He just needs to come out of his shell and play with his heart, which Frank pushes along in that special way that dogs often do with children. It’s the strength of the script that works so well here, making the human-dog connection all the more credible, as Frank brings Roise back to herself. Others soon accept the reincarnation element with a wink of humour and without question, so it becomes a moot point. There is a late third act moment of unnecessary drama involving a jealous neighbour with designs on Roise, but it’s a minor misstep that can be overlooked in light of just how beguiling this film is. The lovely, quietly-observed performances from Brid Ni Neachtain and Cillian O’Gairbhi help the film along smoothly too while reinforcing the idea of community over the individual (the ending is really something). Roise & Frank is proof enough that once the script, direction and performances are finely tuned and in-sync, it doesn’t matter about the language. Every dog has its day and this is a tender, light-footed delight to play with as a result.
Rating: 4 / 5
Review by Gareth O’Connor
In short: A tender delight
Directed by Rachael Moriarty, Peter Murphy.
Starring Brid Ni Neachtain, Cillian O'Gairbhi, Lorcan Cranitch, Ruadhan de Faoite.