Christy – Film Review
by Frank L.

Director – Brendan Canty
Writer – Alan O’Gorman
Stars – Danny Power, Diarmuid Noyes, Emma Willis

Christy is Brendan Canty’s first full-length film. It is an expansion of his 2019 short film of the same title. It made its debut in the Berlinale 2025, where it won the Generation 14plus Grand Prix. Subsequently, it won Best Irish Film at the Galway Film Fleadh. It was written with Alan O’Gorman, who also collaborated on Canty’s first short, “For You”, which starred Barry Keoghan.  Canty’s video for Hozier’s “Take Me to Church” has surpassed a billion views on YouTube.

Christy (Danny Power) has been brought up in the institutional care system, his mother having died. He is a few months short of his eighteenth birthday, but he has been expelled from the care of his foster parents because of a brawl. His elder half-brother Shane (Diarmuid Noyes) has settled down with his girlfriend Stacey (Emma Willis) and has a baby. He has a home and is self-employed as a painter and decorator. He is making a go of things notwithstanding the challenges of his upbringing. He reluctantly agrees to provide Christy with a place to stay, but is badgering the care system to find Christy a new foster home. Half-brotherly love only extends so far. Stacey provides a more sympathetic ear.

Christy has a hidden talent as someone who can cut hair. He is good at it, and it was his mother’s skill.  This enables Christy to connect with some of her former friends and colleagues. On the darker side, some of his cousins operate on the wrong side of the law. They are into dealing drugs and other criminal activity. They represent trouble for Christy.

Life has not dealt Christy or Shane much of a hand. However, Shane has his foot on the ladder, while Christy does not. Both young actors, Danny Power and Diarmuid Noyes, are convincing as they portray the brothers as they battle against the world. Equally, they are convincing as two siblings. The pressure is on each of them to get along together now that they are living under the one roof, albeit reluctantly. Both Power and Noyes capture the complexity of the relationship between the two half-brothers.

What lifts the film into memorable status is the use by Canty and Gorman of members of the Kabin Studio, a community arts-based collective in Cork for young people, who, primarily through hip-hop, have found their collective voice. Here, they both as individuals and as a group bring a wacky optimism to the proceedings. Their banter is a joy. As the credits roll, one of their songs brings the film to a close. They certainly earned the right to be in the limelight.

Christy, as a film, is serious as it examines the immense obstacles young adults face as they transition from institutional care. It is not easy to discern where a fulfilling future might lie, but by utilising the members of the Kabin Studio in Cork, Canty and Gorman have infused the story with a group of young people who have found their voice. They proclaim it with confidence. The combination of Christy and Shane’s relationship, lightened by the young hip-hop Kabin collective, makes for a taxing but heartfelt film which is both serious but also warm and generous.