The Dublin-set young adult romance begins organically, set on Halloween in the Irish capital where Trinity College young people celebrate in an empty building.
Sports enthusiast the male lead (a newcomer actor) is chatting up budding director the other lead (a fresh talent); their exchange is casual and deep, fun and meaningful, like life.
“I’m in character acting like an confident athlete,” quips Jason.
The audience sees him taking stick in the team area for getting his pierced ears. Viewers can practically see his heart thumping in his chest talking to the love interest, who is trans.
An Evening In the Urban Landscape
Both characters spend the night drifting through the urban environment; they contact a substance supplier to score pyrotechnics rather than narcotics and film each other with a vintage recording equipment.
No one bothers them. The movie is soft and sweet up to a surprising disclosure – a twist that demands a real effort of your capacity to accept the unreal, that almost verges on unpolished.
Presence and Realism Carry the Narrative
But the magnetism and engaging authentic delivery of performances from debut actors Lunnon-Collery and Hannon carries it off. The male lead is particularly excellent as Jason, all warmth and charm on the outside.
And fair play to the script by debut filmmaker the creator, which gets more compelling as the film goes on, introducing concepts about remorse and the unreliability of recollection.
Identity and Guilt
Jason receives a shock to his view of himself: his assurance in himself as the nice person, a ally to the vulnerable. He feels a surge of guilt over a situation from his past, occurrences that he has reinterpreted in his mind to take the sting out.
A notable first film.
