204. Rosie; movie review

ROSIE
Cert 12A
86 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate bad language

It is desperately sad that, in 2019, we have learned so little we still inhabit a world of the haves and the have-nots.
However, I was not 100 per cent on the side of destitute Rosie (Sarah Greene) and her husband, John Paul (Moe Dunford), because I couldn't understand why they had decided to have four children given their very low income.
Is it too simple to suggest that if they had stuck on having two like many of us they might have been able to afford to buy the Dublin house that they were forced to leave when their landlord wanted to sell up?
John Paul is a dedicated restaurant worker, spending all day toiling while Rosie is forced to ring around hotels for an emergency room for them and their children.
It is a thankless task. As her boys and girls become more bored in the back seat of the car, she faces knock-back after knock-back.
It is a modern tale of people who can no longer afford to live in the communities in which they have grown up because of a combination of circumstances and cost.

Rosie is desperate to keep her children together so won't allow them to stay with her mother from whom she has deep-seated animosity.
The problem is that she is not in a position to have principles because alternatives are precious few.
Greene is excellent as Rosie, although she looks a lot more fresh-faced than her dire circumstances would usually allow.
Director Paddy Breathnach captures the hopelessness of families who have to beg for a temporary roof over their heads.
He concentrates on the negative effect on the children's schooling and friendships but I felt that he skated too thinly over the fall-out on Rosie's relationship with John Paul.
Indeed, I would suspect there would have been far more friction between both adults and children as they repeatedly fail to find somewhere to live.
Nevertheless, it is a heart-rending tale and I fear the like is too often present in Irish and British society.

Reasons to watch: A sad tale of modern times
Reasons to avoid: Should have been even more hard-hitting

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? There were 10,264 people homeless across Ireland in the week of February 18, 2019. This figure includes adults and children. The number of homeless families has increased by 116% since February 2016. More than one in three people in emergency accommodation is a child.

The final word. Paddy Breathnach: "Being a parent of young children allowed me to know the jeopardies and small dramas and dilemmas and tensions that Rosie goes through in the situations she’s in. Thematically, for me, it goes beyond the immediate issue of homelessness, something that’s far more profound and deep about our feeling that safe and certain in the world, and the necessity of [having a home] to build life and culture and civilized civility and civilization." Movable Fest

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