It’s easy to fly to Dublin for as little as £10, but when you get there you’ll be paying over the odds for a place to stay. Not to mention the fact that you’re probably depriving someone, indirectly, of a place to sleep. Whilst there’s a housing crisis across Ireland, steep (rental and retail) price inflation, job uncertainty, sale of social housing and the continued migration towards the capital have all come together to make home ownership nothing more than a pipedream for many. Paddy Breathnach’s new film, Rosie, follows a family desperate for a place to stay.
Rosie Davis (Sarah Greene) and her partner John Paul (Moe Dunford) have to move out of the home they’ve lived in for seven years when their landlord decided to sell. However, they’re struggling to find something more permanent they can afford. Rosie spends most of her days working through a list of numbers for temporary accommodation, hoping to get somewhere for a few nights. This is whilst taking care of three children. Their entire lives crammed into the back of a car.
Written by Roddy Doyle, Rosie is a powerful and moving drama about a woman who simply wants to be able to bring up her family. Their homelessness is purely down to capitalism and a system which no longer works. Greene delivers a performance reminiscent of Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night. She’s phenomenal, in a matter of fact way. Indeed, Rosie is a wonderful work of social realism. Outlining a major issue in a captivating way. Without having to resort to cliché or stereotypes. Never slipping into melodrama. A compelling piece of contemporary cinema.
Rosie is out in cinemas in the UK from 8 March and will be available on DVD and On Demand on 8 April.
