The War of Independents Film Review #4 - Tin Can Man (2007/2012/2013)

The distribution of Irish films is worthy of an article in itself. We have all read of Irish films being premiered successfully at festivals around Ireland and the world. Buzz is generated and then, almost forgotten they appear in our cinemas sometimes after a year or more (Death of a Superhero, Grabbers). Others are released in cinemas but never find their way to DVD (Snap). Indeed I Went Down (1997) was only released on DVD a year ago after the success of The Guard. The curious thing is that these are not bad films that we are talking about. If it was some appalling Adam Sandler vehicle we could understand not releasing it. But if we are ever to get Irish people interested in Irish films we need to have them out there and visible and with greater speed and regularity.  We have all of these distribution issues and along comes an even more curious case, Ivan Kavanagh’s Tin Can Man.

This is a film, much to my shame, I knew very little about. I was aware that it had been screened at the Dublin Film Festival to some acclaim in 2012. After further research I discovered that it was made in 2007. I found it surprising that a film is shown at a festival five years after it is made. What is even more surprising is that it still does not have a distributor in 2013. Rarely does a film have a shelf life of six years and then turn out to be anything other than bad. One that springs to mind is Kenneth Lonergan’s Margaret which despite a troubled gestation period of six years was quite excellent. But it is a lot easier to get on the cinematic radar when your film includes Mark Ruffalo and Matt Damon and it has Martin Scorsese as an editor. The fact that Tin Can Man has a tiny budget and is shot in black and white does not help its cause. The fact that Tin Can Man is quite superb is both miraculous and a testament to the low budget filmmaking being done in Ireland with almost no support.

The film stars Patrick O’Donnell as Pete, a classic down on his luck type. Unhappy in his job, he is also about to be dumped by his girlfriend. Sitting at home alone in his apartment one night there is a knock on the door. Reluctantly answering he is met by a man who tells Pete that he is in need of a phone as there has been an accident. Meek by nature, Pete lets him in to use his phone. This man who calls himself Dave (a superb Michael Parle) proceeds to get involved in Pete’s life from here on in. Pete’s quiet nature, his fear and sense of terror leads to situations of mounting psychological horror. Indeed the film plays out in a series of scenes that seem weirder than the previous one.

Tin Can Man is a film that wears its influences on its sleeve. To put it in lazy tag line terms it would be this: David Lynch by way of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre filtered through the domestic social realism of Dublin. There is a magnificent scene at Pete’s dad’s house which calls to mind the tag line mentioned. It is a classic Irish father/son problematic relationship that is given extra impetus by the presence of Dave there. Indeed, it briefly touches upon dramatic tropes such as alcoholism and the fear of a dad of an older generation that his son might be gay. This scene is a mix of Mike Leigh via Ben Wheatley and is superbly staged and performed. What makes it blackly funny is that his dad’s fears are the least of poor Pete’s problems.

The sound design is stunning for such a low budget film, drowning it in a soundscape of minimalist piano, loud, quiet, loud voices and off kilter music. This all comes together to really drive home the madness of the narrative. Parle and O’Donnell are both very well suited to their roles and play them perfectly. The claustrophobic cinematography by Colin Downey makes full use of the black and white film to throw shadows all over scenes. This works particularly well in the grubby close-ups of the main characters.

Tin Can Man is a film that will not be for everyone. But there surely must be room in our art house cinemas for a film as stylish and manic as this one. The sad feeling here is that if this film was made by a European filmmaker it would have been released in our cinemas five years ago. In an era such as this when so much dross is released in multiplexes a film this good should be seen on the big screen. Alas, it is an Irish film - so expectations are lowered and distribution is all but impossible. We can but hope.

Ireland on Screen: I want to scream

Beginning last night with Jim Sheridan’s The Boxer, RTE began its latest attempt to support Irish film with an Ireland on Screen season. It will run for two weeks and will have a number of premieres during that time. As a concept this is a very good idea, showcasing Irish film for people who would not be overly familiar with recent output. But the devil is in the details and as soon as you read through the listings several problems emerge.

The first thing that comes to mind is that there is no real structure to the season. It was only announced the day before it was scheduled to begin which means no real time for advertising the season. This is important as some advertisement is probably necessary for people who have no specific interest in Irish film as a whole. As far as I am aware (and I missed The Boxer last night so I could be wrong) there is no real attempt to put the season in context. Would it have cost too much to maybe have someone introduce each film or even just the season? An Irish film academic or film fan, maybe a director or actor, hell even Dave Fanning. It would be refreshing to have someone to say where each film stands in the overall canon of Irish film. Alas this does not appear to be the case.

Another issue is that there is no standard times or days that each film is being shown. The season lasts only two weeks for some reason, the films are scheduled on various days and truly bizarre times. The Boxer kicks off the season at 11.30pm! This is madness if you want to draw viewers in. A quick scan of the schedule could only lead you to believe that it was decided by a World Cup style draw. Films, days and times put into a giant hat and picked out randomly. This is not good. All of this would be forgivable (indeed since Moviedrome there has been a reluctance to introduce film at all on TV which is a real shame) if it wasn’t for the biggest problem of all.

The main issue is simply the choice of films on offer. Looking through the list is groan inducing. There is always going to be some films that will be on any season for familiarity reasons. This is to help get people to watch who otherwise may not bother. This season is full of those kinds of films. This is not a criticism of the quality of any of the choices, more that there is a dull and safe feeling to their inclusion. Films like Michael Collins, The Boxer and In the Name of the Father are too familiar to offer something different. To be fair there are a couple of films I do genuinely want to see, namely His and Hers and The Runway. But where is the sense of risk? Where is the low budget and unfamiliar films of the last few years? Where are films such as Snap, As if I am Not There, Between the Canals, Garage, Hunger, Guiltrip, Accelerator, The Other Side of Sleep, Kisses, Pyjama Girls? There is an argument that at least RTE are making an attempt to help out the Irish film industry here, indeed they also invest financially in Irish film to be fair. But one can’t help feel that there is a real missed opportunity to showcase a diverse selection here. And that is the real pity.

Here is the list of films being shown