A Date for Mad Mary (2016)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

I didn´t enjoy this one bit. It´s terribly slow. It isn´t romantic or moving. It just didn´t connect with me. But I loved the Irish accents.

I see movies getting high ratings a lot. Often cause it's from a certain country or people upvoting it cause they worked on it. I must say, I was a bit sceptic about this one. Thought the high ratings came from people, that liked it cause of where it was made. I decided to take a look for myself. Thinking I could be smart enough to have evidence to bring the rating down. The more I saw of this movie, the more I wanted. The acting, story, the small things. It got it all. If a movie is well made, it does not matter how much or how little of a budget it got. This was much better than anything I imagined. So if you want a genuine movie, I highly recommend this one.

A Date for Mad Mary feels like the kind of film that if it had a French director and suitable name with a rhetorical flourish it would probably get a standing ovation and walk away with a Palme Dior. Nevertheless, it is a lovely film and very fine piece of film making.Directing his first feature Darren Thornton does a great job adapting the film from a theatre monologue, 10 Dates with Mad Mary by Yasmine Akram. Akram for the record is best known for her role as Janine in season three of Sherlock.The premise for the movie is the classic leading protagonist returning to their old world and life after a spell in prison. But a sharp script, elegantly shot, a neat soundtrack and with great all round performances from a largely unheralded but superb cast elevates the drama to top notch cinema.There is plenty of pathos, laughs and romance as Mary McArdle returns to a life living with her mum and nan, with her best friend getting ready to get hitched and trying to resume the good and bad old times. In the process Mary finds herself searching for a suitable candidate of the male species as her plus one at her friend Charlene's wedding only to find a new and unexpected relationship along the way.Much of the film's charm is its down to earth, funny and endearing nature. The straightforward but genuine Irish characters interact in a thoroughly engaging, subtly thought provoking and totally realistic manner. Snapshots of life which feel very believable.And so we see Mary trying to reconcile her previous life and her past where she had the unfortunate mad prefix to her name. But Mary finds that the world she knew has moved on and also has to adapt to situations and new emotions when she stumbles upon part-time wedding photographer and musician Jess.Mary is brilliantly played by Seána Kerslake as the slightly lost teenager while Charleigh Bailey as best friend Charlene and Tara Lee as the savvy and sweet Jess are also excellent.A Date for Mad Mary has bags of Irish charm and is a terrific life affirming movie experience.

A film that is original, topical and profound all at the same time! Modern cinema is typified by having a multiplicity of story-lines and an equal diversity of often unintelligible accents. Not so this production! The viewer is taken gradually into the inner workings of several characters by a director who knows how to tell a story with total clarity.The acting is so exceptional and the cinematography so unobtrusive that I found myself totally engrossed in the reality on screen. Having worked with people not unlike "mad Mary" I found the portrayal remarkably accurate and touching. There is a great balance of sensitivity and humour. Although the story is based in Ireland, this is a tale that will strike chords around the world. This is a very special piece of cinema.