Film Reviews

Anton

• Rating:
• Director: Graham Cantwell
• Starring: Anthony Fox
• Details: Ire / 95mins / (TBC)

As refreshing as it is to see an Irish film with lofty levels of ambition, Anton never really scales the heights it so desperately wants to. Part of this is obvious budgetary constraints, as the filmmakers have not had any government funding, instead admirably raising the money themselves; but mostly, its condensed story just feels over-written and underperformed. Based on true events, the film follows titular character Anton, a Cavan man who returns home in the early '70s after being at sea for several years. He finds his home greatly changed and heavily embroiled in turmoil, with British soldiers patrolling the northern border with theatrical arrogance and force. This brings Anton's previously subdued patriotism to the fore, and he and his childhood friend ultimately end up heavily involved with the Republican movement, while being watched by the head of the hard-line local fuzz (a predictably excellent Gerard McSorley). Shot strikingly in varying colour palettes, its story is an undoubtedly noteworthy one, but its execution lacks a steady hand and consistent tone. Jumping to different locations in Paris, Dublin and Cavan, there is never a strong sense of where exactly the scene's supposed to be - and this causes Anton to sometimes feel like a needlessly irregular theatre production. The jumps in time also play havoc with the pacing, and really don't help some of the performances. Anthony Fox both writes and stars here, embodying the aforementioned aspiration commendably; but his overly ponderous performance lacks immediacy. This also makes him very hard to like, and while that isn't a must in any production, it does help when you're spending the vast majority of the running time with them. The Clinic regular Laura Way does a stellar job as Anton's relentlessly put-upon better half, despite having scenes that often seem designed to do her no favours. Hardly a disaster, it's ultimately far too patchy to even engage sporadically.

Review by Mike Sheridan