Set in Ireland, Kisses chronicles two lower middle-class children, next-door neighbors Kylie and Dylan, who run away to the big city (Dublin) after they can no longer tolerate their abusive home situations. The inciting incident that propels Dylan to actually leave home (joined by Kylie) is when he hits his father in an attempt to stop him from beating up his mother during a drunken argument. Later we find out that Kylie has been sexually abused at the hands of her Uncle, so she too has no qualms about running away.
Writer/Director Lance Daly does a fantastic job in coaching the two first-time child actors, Kelly O'Neill and Shane Curry. Their language is very coarse and you'll have a hard time understanding what they're saying, without reading the English subtitles that appear on screen (yes, the actors are speaking English, but with a very heavy Irish accent). In fact, Daly brilliantly evokes an atmosphere of a violent middle-class world the children must exist in, utilizing dialogue which is peppered with all kinds of offbeat expletives and fascinating slang.
The time the children spend at home is shot in black and white, which is designed to signify the repressive atmosphere they live in. But once the children flee to Dublin, the scenes are now in color, connoting freedom from repression. Daly does well in providing us a snapshot of how bad some of these abusive family situations can be in Ireland today but by the same token, I wonder if he went too far in damning these abusive parental figures. What would have been better if he showed us that these parents were capable of moments of humanity, which would have fleshed their characters out a bit more. Some parental concern and guilt feelings were on display when we hear snatches of the parents being interviewed on radio, after the children are declared missing; but it would have been better, had Daly made the parents a tad bit more sympathetic, and hence multidimensional, from the get-go.
The 'second act' of the film is a mixed bag. Daly spends a little too much time with the children interacting with a kindly barge operator on a canal as he brings them into the city proper. Once in the city, however, there are all kinds of nice touches: the children avoid some kindly child welfare workers who they fear will simply return them to their parents; Dylan receives a kiss on the cheek from a prostitute that appears heartfelt; and they realistically fail to find Dylan's older brother, who ran away to the big city two years before.
Bob Dylan also figures prominently in this film. The barge operator first introduces the children to Dylan by singing a Dylan song and playing the harmonica. Later, a folk artist is singing a Dylan song at a mall where the children assist him in begging for money. Finally, the children run into a man at a stage door during a concert, who appears to be Dylan himself. It turns out that he's only a Dylan imitator, part of an Australian tribute band. We hear Dylan's 'Shelter from the Storm' as part of the film's soundtrack which is apropos, since the children are seeking 'shelter' in the big city, far from the 'storm' of their respective abusive domestic situations.
The second act crisis occurs when Kylie is kidnapped by pedophiles, who snatch her off the street and drive off in a car. I had a hard time believing that Dylan would be able to hold on to the back of the car as they bad guys sped off at top speed. The children's' eventual escape also seems far-fetched but when they finally fall asleep and wake up with the dead body next to them, that was something that could possibly happen.
The ending features the nice touch of seeing the parents relieved but then turning vindictive, as the children are returned to them. Dylan and Kylie exchange trusting glances as they are separated from one another and are brusquely brought back into their respective homes.
Not all of the Kisses' plot is completely plausible nor are the characters (other than the principals), fully realized. Nonetheless, the performances of these child actors are so sharp, that one will find oneself ignoring some of the film's aforementioned intrinsic shortcomings.
Writer/Director Lance Daly does a fantastic job in coaching the two first-time child actors, Kelly O'Neill and Shane Curry. Their language is very coarse and you'll have a hard time understanding what they're saying, without reading the English subtitles that appear on screen (yes, the actors are speaking English, but with a very heavy Irish accent). In fact, Daly brilliantly evokes an atmosphere of a violent middle-class world the children must exist in, utilizing dialogue which is peppered with all kinds of offbeat expletives and fascinating slang.
The time the children spend at home is shot in black and white, which is designed to signify the repressive atmosphere they live in. But once the children flee to Dublin, the scenes are now in color, connoting freedom from repression. Daly does well in providing us a snapshot of how bad some of these abusive family situations can be in Ireland today but by the same token, I wonder if he went too far in damning these abusive parental figures. What would have been better if he showed us that these parents were capable of moments of humanity, which would have fleshed their characters out a bit more. Some parental concern and guilt feelings were on display when we hear snatches of the parents being interviewed on radio, after the children are declared missing; but it would have been better, had Daly made the parents a tad bit more sympathetic, and hence multidimensional, from the get-go.
The 'second act' of the film is a mixed bag. Daly spends a little too much time with the children interacting with a kindly barge operator on a canal as he brings them into the city proper. Once in the city, however, there are all kinds of nice touches: the children avoid some kindly child welfare workers who they fear will simply return them to their parents; Dylan receives a kiss on the cheek from a prostitute that appears heartfelt; and they realistically fail to find Dylan's older brother, who ran away to the big city two years before.
Bob Dylan also figures prominently in this film. The barge operator first introduces the children to Dylan by singing a Dylan song and playing the harmonica. Later, a folk artist is singing a Dylan song at a mall where the children assist him in begging for money. Finally, the children run into a man at a stage door during a concert, who appears to be Dylan himself. It turns out that he's only a Dylan imitator, part of an Australian tribute band. We hear Dylan's 'Shelter from the Storm' as part of the film's soundtrack which is apropos, since the children are seeking 'shelter' in the big city, far from the 'storm' of their respective abusive domestic situations.
The second act crisis occurs when Kylie is kidnapped by pedophiles, who snatch her off the street and drive off in a car. I had a hard time believing that Dylan would be able to hold on to the back of the car as they bad guys sped off at top speed. The children's' eventual escape also seems far-fetched but when they finally fall asleep and wake up with the dead body next to them, that was something that could possibly happen.
The ending features the nice touch of seeing the parents relieved but then turning vindictive, as the children are returned to them. Dylan and Kylie exchange trusting glances as they are separated from one another and are brusquely brought back into their respective homes.
Not all of the Kisses' plot is completely plausible nor are the characters (other than the principals), fully realized. Nonetheless, the performances of these child actors are so sharp, that one will find oneself ignoring some of the film's aforementioned intrinsic shortcomings.