I enjoyed this film. I love watching films about the darker sides of human experience, about poverty, about children living through tough times, and films about overcoming, hope, survival & fighting.
This was not a sentimental film, which was great. It didn't have a tidy Hollywood ending, it had a realistic ending. The film carried a sense of being just a short glimpse into the lives of these two children, and in that sense the ending of the film didn't seem like a real ending. The film ended with a bit of hope for the future, mostly because the two children (neighbours) knew each others secrets and were going to look out for each other (and also because both children were clearly resourceful & were fighters). The two children were great together, and Dylan really sold the film to me with his quiet, gloomy, blank/hardened & almost hopeless expressions.
My main critique of the film is that crazy car-chase bit. That seemed very concocted and not realistic. I don't think that she would have just stood there while the creepy men were asking her questions from their car, she would have moved away from the car to be with Dylan. I also struggled to believe that 2 men would attempt to abduct an 11 year old girl wearing a fluffy pink jacket, who clearly did not look like a street kid - and that they would do so in front of a witness (Dylan) who could describe them, their car, and their numberplate. More realistic would be if someone tried to abduct her if she got separated from Dylan (however, even then, she really does not look like a street kid with no family to miss her).
Another critique of the film is that the children rarely look scared or anxious or cautious about trusting an adult. They are on the streets of Dublin by themselves late at night. At 11 years old I would have been terrified to be in their shoes in an unfamiliar (at least at night) place among strangers. Even after she is almost abducted Kylie does not look very scared. She lies down & goes to sleep instantly, and Dylan soon follows - obviously neither are afraid of the kidnappers returning or of other men attacking them (if they were, Dylan would have tried to stay awake). Kylie looked far more afraid after she found the dead man then she looked after she was abducted.
I didn't like black woman's reasons for kissing the old man. She said, "when you kiss, you either give or you take", but when he kissed her he took something from her, and when she kissed him sexually it wasn't because she wanted to, or because she liked him sexually. She felt felt like she owed him, she wanted to do something for him, so she gave him the only thing she could - sex/kisses - even though she was not attracted to him & even though he was her father's age. I'm disappointed that the director chose this morally questionable scene to be the moral highpoint and moral message of the film. I don't see how the film's message, "when you kiss, you either give or you take," is exemplified by this woman's semi-prostitution.
One more small criticism: the fight scene in Dylan's house didn't seem very realistic. I wanted Dylan's dad to be more threatening, intimidating, dominating than he was; I thought it would have looked scarier to the viewers if he had really got in her face, backed her into the wall or loomed over her (like the abusive husband did in the "Burning Bed" film). There should have been a film shot of Dylan's face looking worried/indecisive about how to act before he lunged at his father. Also, his father should have been still attacking the mother at the time Dylan attacked.
The acting & the directing is not amazing, but for the most part I was really captivated by Dylan's performance, by the children's friendship, and by the basic storyline. There are few films about children, particularly about children from tough environments/abuse/poverty, particularly about street children or children surviving on their own. There should be more films about children like this one.
This was not a sentimental film, which was great. It didn't have a tidy Hollywood ending, it had a realistic ending. The film carried a sense of being just a short glimpse into the lives of these two children, and in that sense the ending of the film didn't seem like a real ending. The film ended with a bit of hope for the future, mostly because the two children (neighbours) knew each others secrets and were going to look out for each other (and also because both children were clearly resourceful & were fighters). The two children were great together, and Dylan really sold the film to me with his quiet, gloomy, blank/hardened & almost hopeless expressions.
My main critique of the film is that crazy car-chase bit. That seemed very concocted and not realistic. I don't think that she would have just stood there while the creepy men were asking her questions from their car, she would have moved away from the car to be with Dylan. I also struggled to believe that 2 men would attempt to abduct an 11 year old girl wearing a fluffy pink jacket, who clearly did not look like a street kid - and that they would do so in front of a witness (Dylan) who could describe them, their car, and their numberplate. More realistic would be if someone tried to abduct her if she got separated from Dylan (however, even then, she really does not look like a street kid with no family to miss her).
Another critique of the film is that the children rarely look scared or anxious or cautious about trusting an adult. They are on the streets of Dublin by themselves late at night. At 11 years old I would have been terrified to be in their shoes in an unfamiliar (at least at night) place among strangers. Even after she is almost abducted Kylie does not look very scared. She lies down & goes to sleep instantly, and Dylan soon follows - obviously neither are afraid of the kidnappers returning or of other men attacking them (if they were, Dylan would have tried to stay awake). Kylie looked far more afraid after she found the dead man then she looked after she was abducted.
I didn't like black woman's reasons for kissing the old man. She said, "when you kiss, you either give or you take", but when he kissed her he took something from her, and when she kissed him sexually it wasn't because she wanted to, or because she liked him sexually. She felt felt like she owed him, she wanted to do something for him, so she gave him the only thing she could - sex/kisses - even though she was not attracted to him & even though he was her father's age. I'm disappointed that the director chose this morally questionable scene to be the moral highpoint and moral message of the film. I don't see how the film's message, "when you kiss, you either give or you take," is exemplified by this woman's semi-prostitution.
One more small criticism: the fight scene in Dylan's house didn't seem very realistic. I wanted Dylan's dad to be more threatening, intimidating, dominating than he was; I thought it would have looked scarier to the viewers if he had really got in her face, backed her into the wall or loomed over her (like the abusive husband did in the "Burning Bed" film). There should have been a film shot of Dylan's face looking worried/indecisive about how to act before he lunged at his father. Also, his father should have been still attacking the mother at the time Dylan attacked.
The acting & the directing is not amazing, but for the most part I was really captivated by Dylan's performance, by the children's friendship, and by the basic storyline. There are few films about children, particularly about children from tough environments/abuse/poverty, particularly about street children or children surviving on their own. There should be more films about children like this one.