Kudos to director Damien O’Donnell (“East is East”) for steering clear of mawkishness and commiseration in this moving, at times hilarious, buddy picture about a pair of physically disabled young Dubliners who draw strength from each other in an arduous journey toward independence.
In his feature-film debut, Steven Robertson is excellent as Michael Connolly, a 24-year-old afflicted with cerebral palsy who, after being abandoned by his influential father, has spent most of his life confined to a wheelchair in the sterile Carrigmore Home for the disabled. Michael’s palsy significantly affects his speech, and the folks at Carrigmore have long since given up trying to communicate with him. But everything changes when Rory O’Shea (a terrific James McAvoy channeling Sid Vicious and Jon Voight’s character from “Coming Home”) arrives loudly on the scene, armed with a rebellious attitude and the ability to understand Michael clear as day. Rory suffers from a degenerative condition called Duchenne muscular dystrophy that deprives him of the use all but two fingers and his mouth, from which emanates a nearly constant stream of cutting commentary. Rory’s disruptive antics, of course, don’t sit very well with the facility’s no-nonsense supervisor, Eileen (Academy Award-winner Brenda Fricker), who seems far more interested in preserving the status quo than in indulging her charges’ adventurous ambitions.
After a boozy, Rory-orchestrated exploit in a night-club opens Michael’s eyes to a world he’s never known, the pair strikes out on their own, using government assistance and guilt-money from Michael’s father to secure a flat and the services of a personal assistant named Siobhán (Romola Garai in a winning performance). The beautiful and charming Siobhán initially bolsters the guys’ spirits and newfound feeling of empowerment — especially a hopelessly smitten Michael — but ultimately her presence underscores the physical obstacles to their emotional fulfillment. Dramatically charged, funny and most of all uplifting, “Rory O’Shea Was Here” is the first best movie of 2005. (Rated R for language. Running time: 104 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 4, 2005. Read the original PDF.