Rory O'Shea Was Here (2004)

Great characters! great actors! Heartrending

I totally fell in love with the characters Michael Conally and Rory O'shea. What great actors! My kids couldn't believe that the actors weren't handicapped, and because I cared so much for the characters that the end was heart rending. I liked the alternate ending better than the movie release because of Michael's relationship with Rory's father, and it showed him in college. May 30, 2008

good movie

This movie is difficult to categorize. It is is happy, sad, funny, etc. so it is hard to know where to start and what to write about. Ultimately I think it is about growth and triumph. The story is about two young men.

These two young men, Michael and Rory, happen to be disabled. Michael has been institutionalized from birth, and except for financial support, he has no dealings with his family. He is an innocent who knows nothing of the world. Rory arrives at the home early in the movie. He is from a poor family, but has a dad who cares. Rory is not quite so innocent. :-)Michael is meek & Rory is full of attitude.

Rory is a free spirit who is trapped in an immobile body. When he arrives at the facility Michael knows Rory will be 'trouble'. Michael soon discovers Rory can understand his speech (which is illegible to most), and the two become friends. They complement & need each other. Most of the movie follows them as they try to live on their own away from the institution & all the joys and sadness which come with that experience.

The movie is fairly upbeat, until the end the movie. There is sadness and tragedy in the movie, too. But ultimately the movie is about growth & triumph.

Very good performances by the 3 lead characters in this movie.



May 8, 2008

Two Guys, a Girl, Two Chairs, One Bar of Soap

I'm not surprised the movie is getting all sorts of five star reviews. It's sort of cheesy, that's what they're not telling you, but the star power is such that Romola Garai and James McAvoy make it worth watching. Steven Robertson is an acquired taste and I got sick of him right away. Even when Siobhan (Romola Garai) gave him a new haircut, he didn't improve in my eyes, and I think looking back offering him that "regular boy's" haircut was a mistake, because it encouraged him to think that, like Pinocchio, he could become a real boy. Tragically because she was so nice to him, in her understated way, he began to misread her affectionate ways for signs of real love and then--

SPOILERS AHEAD

He went off the trolley at a party when he saw her dancing with a non-disabled boyfriend. How banal is the movie? I'll tell you how banal--they had to go make it a costume party, for no reason at all! They're always doing that in the movies, a sign of not believing enough in their own material. It can't just be a regular party party, that's not pictorial enough, they have to put everyone in costumes. So you get McEvoy dressed up as Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean and two extras cast for their Laurel and Hardy act, it's all horribly dire, especially in the face of the fact that this social occasion represents the first time that the central trio's "Jules et Jim" romance is put to the test. So it's supposed to be the turning point of the whole drama, but how can we pay attention, when the screen is cluttered with Cleopatras and French maids.

I don't know about the politics of casting non-disabled actors to fill those wheelchairs, but the actors were up to the challenge. When McEvoy asks Robertson if he gets excited when Garai gives him his nightly spongebath, the two men play it like it was the first time they ever got to be frank in the movies. Their exhilaration is contagious, too bad the whole movie had to succumb to the Ali MacGraw level of script predictability. April 28, 2008

Top Notch!

I'm sure all of the other reviews sum up what the movie is about, and extremely well at that. I only had to read one in order to buy the movie, and now I have to add my own 5 stars to the list. I work in a long term care facility, and the movie shows how easy it is for people to become attached to others, especially when they are the one depending on others to help them with the normal activities of daily living. Although it is hard to show what it is truly like to be handicapped in some way (and have it be believable), in such a short span of time, this movie does an excellent job of it.

I wish I could say this is a movie for the whole family, but due to the language, it unfortunately isn't. As far as I can see, Rory's favorite word is really the only reason it wouldn't be suitable for children, but even though it is used quite often, it isn't without warrant. The expletives help paint a better picture of how frustrating it is to be 'different' than most other people and wish you could be 'normal' and able to take care of yourself. Believe me, watching your language is the least of your worries when you need to be waited on hand and foot due to no fault of your own, and you can't always count on someone being there when you need them most. April 3, 2008

Rory O'Shea Was Here

This was a great movie about people dealing with handicaps. This movie reminds you that they have the same feeling as everyone else regardless of their condition.I love Romola Garia, I bought this DVD because she was in it. I rate shows as whether I would ever watch them again and I will see it again and will recommend it to my friends. The story is bittersweet and so very loving. It shows such great courage. A must see! March 31, 2008

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