Meet Daniel. An awkward 19 year old virgin who stutters when he’s anxious. We join Daniel on his journey towards sexual liberation, watching his confidence grow (and get shattered) as he navigates young adulthood.
With a slightly crazy mother threatening to do something mad at any moment, Daniel’s younger sister, Maeve, helps maintain an even keel. Which is less than can be said for their older brother, Rory, who’s flamboyant attempts at becoming a famous musician have made him quite the prima donna.
There are three key narrative strands to Dannyboy, directed by Ferdia MacAnna, written by MacAnna and Mary Duffin. The primary driving force is Daniel’s quest to get laid, sorry, I mean get a girlfriend. The second is the mysterious case of the missing father, which brings Daniel and Maeve together in their concern as well as highlighting the strained family relationship between all the members of the Buckley household. The final strand is Kathleen’s strange attempt at forging a political career, much to the horror of her children. Running concurrently with Daniel’s attempts at finding love is his mission to cure his stutter. An endeavour which leads him to meet two weird and wonderful characters: the Dracula-esq speech therapist, Dr. Wolkenski, and his absent-minded assistant, Donna.
As Dr. Wolkenski begins to help Daniel, a new confidence emerges. He manages to get himself a shot with a mysterious girl from the club where his brother regularly performs. But is Carla the right fit for Daniel? Maeve and her mother think not. As Daniel eventually discovers, sometimes love is right under your nose – you just have to take a step back in order to be able to see it.
Dannyboy is thoroughly well-cast. Darragh Byrne perfectly captures Daniel as an the awkward teen with a charm that only grows throughout the film. The relationship between Daniel and Maeve (Helena Geoghegan) is particularly endearing; Byrne and Geoghegan work excellently on screen together. Jack Hickey as the older brother plays a perfect oppositional role, countering Daniel’s awkward presence with his sleazy, cocksure attitude. Another interesting dynamic in the film is that between the mother and children. Kathleen (Clelia Murphy) is slightly unhinged to say the least, continually enticing Daniel to do her bidding while always being distracted by her own dramatics – something from which he is eventually able to escape at the end of the film.
Although it isn’t quite clear how we are supposed to feel about Kathleen’s antics, Clelia Murphy is both captivating and amusing on screen. The contrast between the two love interests, Carla (Alexandra Moloney) and Donna (Lucy Jones) is reflected in the two actresses’ performances. Moloney is aloof and distant; Jones is quirky and bubbly. Both are brilliant. While at times it feels like the different strands of the narrative don’t quite coalesce in the most convincing and natural way, Dannyboy is nonetheless extremely enjoyable especially for its nostalgic homage to the 80s.
Watch the trailer below, and head over to Amazon, the Microsoft Store, Apple TV or Google Play to watch the full film!