Mescalmania wasn’t a thing when Paul Mescal was cast in this harrowing indie drama. Though he’d made Normal People, he was still seen as, well, a normal person.
The 27-year-old’s totally deserved Oscar nom for Aftersun, plus ecstatic reviews for his stage performance in A Streetcar Named Desire, explain why the second collaboration between US directors Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer has become such a hot ticket. Mescal’s not bigger than God. But, by God, he’s big.
Set in a coastal Irish village in the Nineties, Mescal plays Brian O’Hara, though the film’s protagonist is actually Brian’s mother Aileen (the superlative Emily Watson, in her first major film role for years), whose mouth falls open when she sees her boy strolling into the local pub. Aileen is delighted.
Brian has been in Australia. Now he’s back and wants to start fishing for oysters. When he’s accused of a horrific crime – involving Sarah (Aisling Franciosi), a young villager who Aileen not only works alongside but adores – Aileen instinctively puts Brian’s needs first.
Watson and Mescal, along with scriptwriters Shane Crowley and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly (both born and raised in Kerry) do a fantastic job of putting Aileen’s betrayal in context.
Watch her with the baby son of her daughter, Erin (Toni O’Rourke) as she presses her nose to the infant’s head. See the joy in her eyes when Brian asks if the baby is hers.
That Aileen is drawn to the boys in the family isn’t a personal quirk. What we’re witnessing is state-sanctioned favouritism. In fact, practically everyone over 30, in this neck of the woods, takes Brian’s side against Sarah. But what does Erin think about this and will her perspective change what happens next?
Sadly, the final act is mostly disappointing – it’s implausible and theatrical. Still, given the tiny budget, it’s remarkable how much about this dysfunctional landscape makes sense.
In one of the very best scenes, a guilt-ridden Aileen searches her son’s craggy face for clues as to his morality. The camera, by slowly rotating, encourages us to see him from fresh angles, too.
Watson and Mescal, as characters hiding in plain sight from each other, are a formidable duo. Later, when Brian bitterly wails that Aileen has always put him on a pedestal, it’s impossible not to be moved.
The terrible weight that comes with being worshipped. Mescal can probably relate to that. He and Watson are screen icons and we shouldn’t need reminding that while he’s in his prime, so is she.
101mins, cert 15
