Film Reviews

32A

• Rating:
• Director: Marian Quinn
• Starring: Ailish McCarthy
• Details: Ireland / Germany / 89mins (15A).

A charming coming-of-age story, 32A (a bra size, not a bus number - if it was about a bus it'd have to be called 'Out Of Service') follows 14-year-old Dubliner Maeve Brennan (McCarthy) as she comes to terms with becoming a woman. Along the way she meets and falls for hunk Brian Power (McDaid), falls out with her friends and gets into trouble in school. More of a 'bunch of stuff that happens' rather than a straightforward narrative, 32A can be funny and sweet when it wants to be, and with likeable, believable characters in a real world setting it's easy to get into. Quinn is also to be applauded for her attention to detail. Set in 1979, 32A does its level best to bring the era to life: from music to clothes to even the box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes on the breakfast table, Quinn, considering the budget available, delivers. Where it lets itself down is a plot that's unsure of itself: Quinn seems hesitant to decide if her film is a multi-character story or just Maeve's; it's certainly Maeve-heavy but when it branches out to encompass her best friend Ruth (Wasson), whose absent father returns after years away, and another friend worrying about buying her first bra, things can get unfocussed. A promising debut feature for writer-director Marian Quinn, this won't be the last we'll hear of her or her lead Ailish McCarthy.

Review by Gavin Burke