TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2015 // A FILM REVIEW OF "JIMMY'S HALL"

BY MATEO MORENO

The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, runs April 15th-26th and features hundreds of features, documentaries, short films, and special events all throughout downtown New York City. The ArtsWire Weekly's three featured reviewers Mateo, Derek, & Chrisena are hitting the festival and bringing the reviews right to you! What you should see and what you should skip...

Ken Loach has always been known for making very personal and naturalistic films, and his latest effor here at Tribeca JIMMY'S HALL again immediately strikes as a very personal story. Here, Loach takes on the true story of Jimmy Gralton, an Irish communist leader who became the first and only Irishman to ever be deported from Ireland. He was deported without trial and has remained an ugly stain in Irish history. Set in 1932, a decade after the end of the Irish Civil War, it follows Jimmy (Barry Ward) as he returns to his native Ireland after speading ten years in the United States. He left his home country originally after there was an uproar from the local Catholic Church regarding his involvement with The Pearse-Connolly community hall, which he founded and ran programs for the locals dedicated to art, music, sports, and all the things that the Church though were entirely frivilous things to teach. So they ran him out of town, only to be disapointed when he returns. He hasn't returned to reopen the hall, but to help out his own mother after the death of his brother. But when he returns the youth attach themselves to him immediately. They've heard stories of Jimmy, and are desperately bored in this small town. They want to dance. They want to play sports. They want to do more than just talk abour religion each and every moment of the day. So after some persuading Jimmy reopens the hall with the help of some friends and they start teaching classes to these kids with great effect. However, none of this sits well with the local Church, especially Father Sheridan (Jim Norton), and he marks on a one man mission to shread all evidence that Jimmy Gralton was ever there.

Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty paint a rich and powerful picture with Jimmy's Hall. You might be able to pick up on a few things easier should you know the context behind the history revolving around the film, but even if you don't, the film is a quiet charmer. Ward is fantastic as the returned hero, who was a man that believed in then "radical ideas" and simply wanted to help and have fun. Norton avoids the mustache twirling villan that in lesser hands his character could turn into, and instead really envelops a character who believed so strongly in his own mind's views that he consistantly overlooked how everyone else felt. Equally wonderful is Simone Kirby, who was Jimmy's girl before he left for the states. She couldn't join him and though she waited for him, eventually she gave up hope and married another. Now he's back and their relationship is powerful, sad, and sweet. Jimmy's Hall is deliberate in its slow pacing and it works (the dance hall scenes feel truly rich and alive). Eligant in its approach, the Hall will cast a spell on you while teaching you a very important part of history. Once that we hope will never be repeated but should also never be forgotten.

VERDICT: MUST SEE

DIRECTED BY Ken Loach WRITTEN BY Paul Laverty STARRING Barry Ward, Francis Magee, Aileen Henry, Simone Kirby, Stella McGirl, Sorcha Fox

 Playing as part of The 2015 Tribeca International Film Festival. For tickets & schedules: http://www.tribecafilm.com

MATEO MORENO recently won a bet on who could hold their breath the longest underwater. He won the bet, having beat local loudmouth Jimmy "Thunderbird" Thomas with a record breaking "fourteen minutes." True, part of that time was him unconscious and the other part was him being revived, but he still counts it, and is now $20 richer. Take THAT Thunderbird! He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.