The Courageous (12A)
Directed by Jasmin Gordon
★★★★★

PERHAPS you need to have been a single parent — endlessly changing flats and running out of money — to identify with this film, because it is a tender examination of the love and loyalty that holds a family together, and the sledgehammer of anxiety, undermining it all.

The parent is a woman, played with an equal measure of vulnerability and confrontational pizzazz by Ophelia Kolb, but it could just as easily be a man. A crime lurks in the past, the need to shoplift and steal runs throughout, and the film studies the moment when the heroic attempt to hold it all together begins to unravel.

The small deceptions and moments of exaggerated happiness play out under the steady gaze of her oldest daughter (Jasmine Kalisz Saurer) who now carries too much responsibility for her younger brothers. This point of view makes the film exceptional because the kids are learning to survive throughout, and we learn alongside them. 

Within the claustrophobic confines of an Alpine valley and an excessively regulated community, their mother is a precious rebel and the film asks us to choose between the plausible constraints and rituals of a small community, and the destruction of this false ideal.

If you know what it’s like to be the odd-parent-out at a kids’ party you’ll relish the perfectly observed awkwardness with which two complacent husbands manoeuvre a spent chocolate fountain, you’ll cheer when the speed camera is demolished, and you’ll know in advance that she’s burned the house down.

The characters are condemned, but the film isn’t interested in hammering that obvious point home. Rather it savours the bittersweet moments of pyrrhic triumph, small but consequential flashes of joy and mutual understanding in the midst of consumer capitalist doom.

A delight.
AR
In cinemas September 5.

The Cut (15)
Directed by Sean Ellis
★★★

THIS is a gruelling, brutal and visceral boxing drama which provides a fresh take on the genre and features an extraordinary knock-out performance by Orlando Bloom.

Bloom, who also produced it, plays a retired former Irish boxing champion who, 10 years after a career-ending defeat, is given one last shot at a championship title but only if he can make the weight. He heads to Las Vegas with his supportive wife (a mesmerising Caitriona Balfe) where he has to lose just over 30 pounds in a few days, and with the aid of an unscrupulous trainer (John Turturro) embarks on an intense and illegal weight loss programme. 

Bloom, who lost a reported 30 pounds in weight, gives a transformative portrayal in this tense and taut psychological drama directed by Sean Ellis and written by Justin Bull, which explores obsession and losing touch with reality. At times it is hard to tell what is real and what is imagined, and frequent flashbacks to his childhood prove a disconnect. 

Turturro is formidable and frightening while Balfe provides the heart of the film. 

This is a riveting but difficult watch.
MD
In cinemas September 5.

Christy (15)
Directed by Brendan Canty
★★★★

THEY say it takes a village, but in this social realist drama set in Cork’s working-class Northside, it is about a community and how it must heal itself as a 17-year-old foster kid finds himself at a crossroads. 

This is a gorgeous and uplifting directorial debut feature by Brendan Canty is both moving and surprisingly funny, and driven by quietly powerful performances from its two leads Danny Power and Diarmuid Noyes.  

Written by Alan O’Gorman, and based on a short film of the same name, it follows Christy (Power) who, having been kicked out of his foster home, goes to live with his estranged older brother Shane (Noyes) and his young family. Shane is desperate to find Christy another foster family as he cannot deal with him but at almost 18 this proves difficult. 

This is about two brothers not being able to communicate or discuss their feelings. Shane makes decisions without consulting his other half or Christy. It is the female characters who speak the most sense and who are the most emotionally intelligent. 

Featuring a sublime young supporting cast including scene stealing rapper Jaime Forde, this is a heartfelt yet hopeful drama. 
MD
In cinemas September 5.

On Swift Horses (15)
Directed by Daniel Minahan
★★★

SET in the 1950s, this is a complex love triangle with a twist, and a stylish and exquisitely shot melodrama. 

Based on Shannon Pufahl’s novel, this is a fascinating directorial debut feature by Daniel Minahan starring a stellar cast which explores repressed identities and sexual complexities at a time when homosexuality was a crime.  

The film follows Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her husband Lee (a phenomenal Will Poulter) whose plans to move to California to live the American dream are upended by his brother Julius (Jacob Elordi) on his return from Korea. 

When Muriel and Julius meet they immediately fall in love but it is purely platonic. As the story unfolds, we discover they are both secret gamblers and are queer. The only character not harbouring any hidden desires or ambitions is Will. 

In terms of look and tone it is very reminiscent of Carol. However, it is let down by its cheesy western-style ending. 
MD
In cinemas September 5.