“To call Christy heartwarmingly beautiful would be an understatement.”

Watching Irish filmmaker Brendan Canty’s debut feature Christy feels a lot like getting hugged by An Daghdha – the Druid god/father figure – while wearing a soft Aran cabled woolen sweater and listening to the Chieftains song ‘The Foggy Dew’ (preferably the version featuring the late Sinéad O’Connor). And if you don’t end up feeling that way yourself, you need to check your pulse as your heart may have stopped.  

To call Christy heartwarmingly beautiful would be an understatement. The film, which appropriately opens the Generation 14plus program, marks the first feature for a young filmmaker who has become best known for co-directing the music video of Hozier’s ‘Take Me to Church’, which went viral shortly after dropping on YouTube and helped in catapulting the Irish singer-songwriter’s career to the top.  

Like in the video, as well as in Canty’s 2017 short film For You featuring Irish actor Barry Keoghan, his feature deals with themes of love and its redeeming power. There are ominous signs at play, though unlike in the Hozier video things don’t go the way the audience may expect. I kept thinking I was getting lulled into a false sense of security, when instead the story was taking me to a place I would never expect – and in a good way, thankfully.  

At its heart Christy is the story of two half-brothers, separated at a young age and ushered into the Irish foster system. The title character is played perfectly by Danny Power, who also starred in Canty’s 2019 short by the same name. Power may soon find himself on a star trajectory not unlike the one Keoghan has been on since working with Canty. Christy’s older brother Shane is played by a more veteran actor, the quietly handsome Diarmuid Noyes, who starred in the TV series Borgia as Italian diplomat and cardinal Alessandro Farnese.   

When 17-year-old Christy beats up his foster brother, Shane has to take him into his small but cozy house in Cork, which he shares with his lovely wife Stacey (the naturally beautiful Emma Willis) and their infant daughter. While Shane battles to try to do the right thing for his half-brother, Christy organically falls back into the family dynamics and village community activities of the sleepy, working-class Irish town, where he manages to conquer the hearts of everyone around him, even if in some cases through untraditional methods…  

One brother struggles to make things right for the other, while the other discovers the light within himself and in the process brings a different energy to the village as well. Cinematically speaking, thanks to Colm Hogan’s intimate cinematography, Christy begins in dark and somber grey tones, much like its protagonist’s mood when he first arrives to Cork, but slowly and naturally begins to lighten up, along with Christy himself. He even discovers an inner talent that he has inherited from his mom, an unfortunate drug-addicted woman who passed away when the brothers were young, leaving her children at the mercy of social services. This talent may be the source of his salvation.  

And while this title, with its quiet, humble and subtle tones and introspective storyline, is the complete opposite of a certain Marvel blockbuster opening this weekend, you will need to sit through the credits of this one too to discover a wonderful gem of a song, an ensemble piece at the very end of the film that is simply indescribable, and a fitting companion to the beautiful music by Irish artist Daithí throughout.

As we wait for things to go terribly wrong, as a more predictable storyline would unfold, that’s when Canty’s genius shows. Christy plays in ominous tones, which are painted by the family’s darker cousins and unsettling aunt, as well as Christy’s own character, which at times feels like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. But will it, or will the film stay its course and show us a story of true love – love for family, love for our community, love for those who may seem unlovable at times but only wish for a touch, a look, that warm hug we spoke about at the start of this review? With its outstanding cast and creatives and its human story, Christy makes for a perfect movie experience.  

Image copyright: Sleeper Films, Wayward Films, Nite Owl Film & TV