FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
RORY O'SHEA WAS HERE
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
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