‘Black Guelph’ Review: A Very Compelling Irish Drama of Abuse and Repercussions

Inside black gulfJohn Connors, said to be the first filmmaker to come from an ethnocultural group called the Irish Travelers, portrays the scourge of child sexual abuse, creating a dense tapestry of pain in which a child’s victimization by a priest turns into crime enough, addiction. And rage for decades to destroy a small community. Intriguing characters and detective fiction elements prevent the film from becoming a mindless endeavor, but there’s not much hope here, especially for victims who, due to compensation and court-order silence, will never be able to share their trauma with an outraged audience.

Commercial prospects may be somewhat hampered by the film’s nonsensical title, whose reference to 14th-century Italian history will be lost to most viewers unless they have access to the producers’ notes (which also explain the importance of character design). ). Dante’s names Hell). The (seemingly unintended) implication is that such comparisons are necessary to reinforce the intense and well-known pain of victims of Catholic priests. But the film’s action says exactly what it means, without the need for literary or historical references.

Graham Earle plays Kanto, the leader of a small group of drug dealers in an unnamed seaside town. Estranged from his wife for reasons you’d expect, he’s genuinely heartbroken, especially since he’s estranged from his daughter, but is unable to mend the personal chaos that drove him away.

Meanwhile, Kanto’s long-absent father Danny (Paul Roe) fights his way through the city (possibly out of prison) and begins to check himself into an abandoned orphanage. We learn that this was his childhood home; that he came here hoping to end the embarrassment that has been inflicted on him since. He befriends Virgil (Tony Doyle), a college astrophysics student who comes to the dark estate with his telescope to look for more. The young man takes him to a ship he calls home, where his mother Beatrice (Denise McCormack, who plays a drug addict trying to stay clean) offers him hospitality.

Nobody connects the dots, but Bea once used Dan’s son. And he suffers for it: Kanto owes money to a powerful local bandit (played by the director), soon terrorizing those who owe him money. (An encounter with another worthless father who abuses his wife and neglects his son when Kanto comes to collect inspires a rare gangster moment, showing him everything the movie wants to give us.)

Danny is also back in town to deal with legal issues from his abuse. A very ugly courtroom scene shows the defense trying to discredit him, citing his criminal past as proof they don’t trust him. Without dwelling on it, Roe (an energetic standout in an equally strong cast) shows how this encounter with a deceitful authority figure leaves Dan briefly as helpless and embarrassed as the boy.

Knowing something about yourself is not the same as putting knowledge into action. Dan’s efforts to make amends with his son and connect with caring strangers are doomed to fail. A lot of time has passed for a 50-year-old man, and his son has learned the lessons of neglect too well to change. Would it help these people, or the countless real victims they represent, if the details of every crime were made public and all institutions held accountable for the criminals they protected? True justice cannot be done at this stage. But in Dan’s actions, the movie wants to see hope that we can at least prevent the damage from spreading to the next generation. As unsatisfactory as it is, it is far better than what we get from secret cash deals and silent impunity.