Girls and Boys – Film Review

Director – Donncha Gilmore
Writer – Donncha Gilmore
Stars – Liath Hannon, Adam Lunnon-Collery, Jenny Maguire, Justin Ensor, Francis O’Mahony Oisin Flynn and Joseph McGuckian

Girls and Boys is the latest independent Irish movie, supported by Fís Éireann, that deserves its inclusion in the impressive list of home-grown movies of merit. You can’t help but think of Normal People as this story brings us back to Trinity College and features a couple who are not mainstream, but explore the potential of their college years to find their niche.

Charlie (Liath Hannon) is a young film-maker who has a chance encounter with Jason (Adam Lunnon-Collery), a business studies student at an illicit Halloween student party.

I had the privilege of seeing Hannon onstage previously in the 2023 International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, in the lead role of Garret Baker’s ‘The War Wounded’, where I awarded the Eva Gore Booth performance award to Hannon. Her progression from stage to screen is as seamless as it is successful.

Here, Hannon communicates a Charlie with a depth and intrigue that there is more to this young filmmaker’s story and back story. Hannon’s nonverbal communication is equally clear, though outwardly, always smiling. We soon discover the real person behind the smiles. Charlie has quite a story of courage, confidence, love and loss to tell. Gilmore’s focused screenplay ensures it is told with truth and authenticity.

Jace (Jason) is a beautiful portrayal by Adam Lunnon-Collery, who has a vulnerable honesty that draws the viewer in. The comparison to Normal People resonates again, as he visibly struggles to face and accept all the challenges College presents, on the journey from teenager to young man. The chemistry of the central couple, the contemporary relevance of the themes discussed, are key to maintaining our interest throughout the 85 minutes.

Donncha Gilmore takes on a contemporary story with confidence and skill. He has clear strengths in both genres as a writer and director. His deliberate unpacking of contemporary understanding of the experience of trans people and young members of diverse communities is a real, authentic strength. Many episodes peel back the human experience of young people who learn that they don’t ‘fit in’. It is interesting that in presenting valid insights on that journey, in evoking empathy for those who face trans exclusion, there is little space for Charlie when Jace emotionally verbalises his own adolescent experiences of being excluded from lad culture because of his vulnerability and friendships. Charlie doesn’t reciprocate the empathy that Charlie expects.

We are brought into college rugby culture and the expressions of masculinity, virginity and emotional disconnection. The bad boy Mark, an arrogant and insecure rugby player nicely studied by Oisin Flynn, actually treats Charlie worse as a young man, than Jason did as a boy, but he is shown more understanding. Equally, the school bullies who impacted both on Charlie and Jason are anonymised as the focus of reflective guilt remains on Jace.

This is a well shot, tender story of change and challenge. There is an appropriate empathy in its telling and a quality treatment of the screenplay. Locations are familiar to Dublin, which always adds a welcome connection for Irish audiences. Friendships in this group are strained, lost, repaired and sustained throughout, ably supported by a strong cast of fellow students led by Francis O’ Mahony’s loyal Alice.

There is a lot of warmth in the tale, some good comedy from Joseph McGuckian and a great contemporary soundtrack. Girls and Boys ensures a space is constructed for the young people to deal with the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The scars they bring from one can be reshaped and recovered in the right company. This group of Trinity College undergraduates illuminate contemporary and responses that unpack many issues dealt with far more unfairly and hatefully in social media.

Girls and Boys is an uplifting tale of how young people listen to each other and grow together in these hugely formative years. It reaffirms that ‘normal people’ come in many diverse guises. Gilmore’s impressive debut has a clear and positive vision of this important conversation, and together with his actors, they all work to convey this positive story with impact and emotion. Girls and Boys deserves its plaudits (winner of the best independent Irish film at the Galway Film Fleadh)  and hopefully some more will follow from this welcome general release.