TD 1
Metal Heart Director: Hugh O’Conor Talent: Jordan
ne Jones, Leah McNamara, Moe Dunford Released: 28 June We The Animals Director: Jeremiah Zagar Talent: Evan Rosado, Raul Castillo, Sheila Vand Released: 14 June Emma and Chantal are twin sisters – fraternal twin sisters, as is emphasised with their opposing styles, ambitions and boyfriends. However, during the milestone summer before the two go their separate ways, whether to college or beyond, the sisters discover newfound empathy for one another. Hugh O’Conor’s coming-of-age film Metal Heart follows these girls as they learn about sex, responsibility, deception and family. The film is narrated by Emma (Jones), a goth girl whose black lipstick reveals her hatred for anything conventional. First on her list: Chantal (McNamara), her popular, blonde and ambitious twin sister. Chantal is a beauty blogger, working on monetising her blog at the age of 18 with €5,000 in her savings account from a part-time job at a local ice cream shop. She is a young woman with a great deal of agency; she has consensual sex with her beef-head, warm-hearted boyfriend (Heffernan), she owns a car that she purchased with her ice cream shop wages, and she has a thick binder filled with her business plan. Despite all of this, Chantal is ridiculed and villainized by Emma, the supporting characters and, it would seem, the director and writers of the film. Her injury early on in the film is portrayed as a type of justice, allowing Emma to finally flourish into an independent, if misguided, woman. However, there is nothing shallow about this young woman starting her own business as a teenager, even if the writers believe that makeup and fashion are somehow not as valid as a metal/punk/rock band. Ultimately, this is a film about a sisterly bond, one that cannot be broken by toxic older men or screaming matches, and it ends on a heartfelt note. While it could benefit from a female touch in order to make the nuances of the sisters more complex and believable, it succeeds as a unique story about two independent girls as they transition to womanhood hand-in-hand. HMK Based on the semi-biographical novel of the same name by Justin Torres, Zagar’s film documents the ups and downs of a family over the course of a year. At the centre of the drama is Jonah (Rosado) who watches from the shadows at the outbursts, breakups and makeups between his Puerto-Rican father and Irish mother, a couple who met and married in their teens. There is an obvious attraction and love between his parents but they also seem so unsettled and frustrated at how their lives have turned out. At times, they are so caught up in each other that Jonah and his two brothers tend to roam wild in the countryside around their home, playing and constructing their own worlds. But Jonah is quieter, less wildling, more thoughtful and artistic. He draws and keeps a journal of his thoughts; a journal hiding his true self. There’s a dreamy documentary feel to this film and an interesting narrative between the chaotic world of the parents and the confusing complicated navigation of childhood. The three boys probably know that their parents shouldn’t be together and, had it not been for them, their mother and father would have lived very different separate lives. But there’s little they can do about it and so they watch on, always absorbing the drama and violence. With the camera lingering over faces and carefully following each character, there’s the feel and insightfulness of an intimate documentary. And even though Jonah is the heart of the film, it’s hard not to feel for everyone involved. We The Animals may feel small and simple but it’s a beautifully made coming-of-age drama. SOR 77