Film@BirrTheatre brings you the best of Irish, world and independent cinema on the theatre's big screen.
We know how to choose them don't we? After the laughing fest that was Supernova (not really) here comes After Love a stunning, wildly original but also deeply affecting first feature from Aleem Khan.
After Love follows Mary, a British woman who converted to Islam in order to marry Ahmed. When Ahmed dies suddenly, Mary discovers that he had another life just across the Channel in Calais. She endeavours to discover who he really was and in so doing who she really is herself.
The film is a tale of secrets and lies, a portrait of people caught between identities and cultures. At its heart, is a constrained yet wonderfully expressive performance by the impressively versatile Joanna Scanlan. She may be best known for comedy shows such as Getting On and The Thick of It, but here she offers a masterclass in the dramatic power of understatement.
Over the course of the drama, in which the hesitant and often silent Mary meets vivacious, cosmopolitan Frenchwoman Geneviève (Nathalie Richard) and seemingly stroppy Franco-Pakistani youth Solomon (Talid Ariss), we discover that everybody is leading a double life, showing different faces to different people.
All in all, After Love is a perfectly measured film of simmering tensions. It examines what it is to be the odd one out and how we define ourselves. It is stunningly successful and, in our opinion it might well be the best British film you'll see in Birr this year!
So, come and join us this Thursday at 8pm for This week's installment of Film@BirrTheatre.
Tickets available online : Book Now
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