Mighty Celt, The DVD Review

"THE MIGHTY CELT" reviews

DVD

THE MIGHTY CELT

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-02-02 16:55:40

Provider

MRIB

DVD Review

This engaging Belfast-set film features Robert Carlyle and Gillian Anderson (formerly Scully from X-Files), though its central character is young Donal (Tyrone McKenna), whose special way with his four-legged friends secures him an after-school job with greyhound trainer Good Joe (Ken Stott).

When he saves a pooch from being put down by the unsympathetic Joe, Donal adopts him as his own, renaming him the Mighty Celt (named after a comicbook hero), turning him into an all-conquering sprinter on the track. Meanwhile, his domestic life is becoming intertwined with his mother's past boyfriend, former terrorist O (Carlyle). Anderson is superb as Donal's mum, mastering the accent and turning in a convincingly dowdy performance as the unglamorous single parent.

Carlyle's role is more controversial, and director Pearse Elliott appears to have a rather indulgent view of his past activities, even if the film insists he has now laid down his arms. Similarly, Donal's crushing poverty is ennobled by the writer-director (which makes McKenna's rather posh accent somewhat incongruous). Though the film has its flaws, its central, if well-worn, rites-of-passage theme is well handled and its dramatic power undeniable.

A making of featurette is included.

Copyright © MRIB 2006.