RORY O'SHEA WAS HERE
Directed by: Damien O'Donnell.
Produced by: James Flynn & Juanita Wilson.
Written by: Jeffrey Caine.
Director of Photography: Peter Robertson.
Edited by: Frances Parker.
Music by: David Julyan.
Released by: Focus.
Language: with English subtitles.
Country of Origin: UK/Ireland/USA. 104 min. Rated: R.
With: James McAvoy, Steven Robertson & Romola Garai.

Wise-ass, jabbering, and disabled Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy) wants to leave his special needs home and prove that he can lead an independent life. A teenager with muscular dystrophy, Rory becomes friends with Michael (Steven Robertson), whose cerebral palsy renders his speech incomprehensible to everyone but his new best friend. The two move to Dublin on their own where they acquire the services of caretaker Siobhán (Romola Garai), an irresponsible blonde.

Rory O'Shea Was Here is a weird film. Early on, there is a constant strive for black humor, brought about mainly through the herky-jerky speech impediment of Michael. When Siobhán comes into the two young men’s lives, the film flirts with becoming a teen drama. It seems that not even two best friends bonded by their disability are safe from a bad beautiful blonde. In expressing the point that a teenage boy in a wheelchair is first and foremost a teenage boy, director Damien O’Donnell panders a bit to the audience. If not for the convincing performances from all three leads, this predictable turn would be more offensive.

The biggest problem for both the characters and the audience, it turns out, is Rory O'Shea. Not since the portrayal of Ron Kovic in Born on the Fourth of July has there been a paraplegic on film that lives in such a state of denial. There are moments when Rory is downright not likable; he talks back to everyone so they’ll be aware of his existence, and after joy riding, he lashes out at the police for refusing to arrest him. Michael Belkewitch
February 4, 2005