Redemption of a Rogue

Philip Doherty's black comedy finds the Irish playwright turning adroitly to film.

In the long run this film provides what can only be called a very mixed bag. This black comedy from Ireland is a work by the playwright Philip Doherty here making his feature debut as both screenwriter and director. Set in County Cavan, Redemption of a Rogue finds Jimmy Cullen (Aaron Monaghan) returning after seven years to his home town of Ballylough. On his arrival even his brother, Damien (Kieran Roche), head-butts him and the whole community greet him with hostility. That response is particularly true of his former girlfriend, Patricia (Liz Fitzgibbon), now confined to a wheelchair and in time details do indeed emerge to explain why he should be so unwelcome.

Told in five chapters, the tale starts engagingly and soon reveals a situation that seems to promise much comedy. No sooner is Jimmy reunited with his father (Hugh B. O’Brien) than the old man dies, but his will holds up the funeral when it is realised that it provides that his sons will lose their inheritance should they bury him when it is raining. With a forecast that promises the continuance of torrential rain for days, the burial has to be postponed even if that means keeping the body in the family freezer along with packets of pizza.

Redemption of a Rogue has been compared to the films of Aki Kaurismäki and that seems apt, partly because he relishes music and a band performing blues numbers is a strong presence here.  But it’s also on account of this film’s blend of tones. The material may play as black comedy but, far from being a harsh work, Doherty displays an underlying human sympathy and is very much on the side of Jimmy despite what is revealed about his past history. Similarly, the film invites sympathy for the girl singer, Marla (Aisling O’Mara), an outsider who is drawn to Jimmy but who is treated as a scapegoat by the community. In a good cast, nobody is better than Monaghan who ensures that whatever Jimmy’s flaws he never loses our sympathy.

As it turns out though, Redemption of a Rogue can only sustain its length by taking the comedy into areas that become more and more involved with religion. Sometimes this works well. One example is a scene in which Jimmy is given a set piece in which he neatly reinterprets the Biblical story of the plagues visited upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. But at other times it seems more odd than effective (there’s a scene in a church in which a statue of the Virgin Mary comes alive). In any case the film’s third act finds the religious aspect becoming even more central since it involves Jimmy echoing Christ by embracing a redemptive act. Here the film seems to lose its way and the longer it goes on the less clear becomes the stance that it is taking. But, if that means the film eventually disappoints leaving us unsure what to make of it, certain aspects of it play really well. Not only does it benefit from Monaghan’s strong appeal, but it also shows that Doherty is adroit in what for him is a new medium. Helped by the editing of Allyn Quigley, he gives us a piece that is cinematically confident.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast: Aaron Monaghan, Aisling O’Mara, Kieran Roche, Pat McCabe, Charlie Bonner, Liz Fitzgibbon, Hugh B. O’Brien, Paul Marron, Lorna Quinn, Tiernan Kearns, Ray Fitzsimons, Fiona Fitzpatrick, Jessica Curran.

Dir Philip Doherty, Pro Emma Foley, Tamryn Renecke and Pat McCabe, Screenplay Philip Doherty, Ph Burschi Wojnar, Pro Des Joseph Doherty, Ed Allyn Quigley, Music Robbie Perry.

Pale Rebel Productions/The Gonzo Theatre/Screen Ireland-Wildcard Distribution.
93 mins. Ireland. 2020. Rel: 1 October 2021. Cert. 15.