Gwen Podbrey

The film is a masterpiece, about the contagion of despair and the terrible impact of spite in a tiny Irish community. A talented, but seriously depressed man can only find some remnant of self-worth and power by rejecting and viciously manipulating an old, loyal and bewildered friend, and projecting onto him all the hatred that he feels for himself. Like all acts of spite, it escalates as the rejected friend watches his own fragile life beginning to crumble around him. As the victim is forced to find a new and terrible callousness in himself, the bonds between the islanders are steadily eroded. This is offset by their vulnerability to the British cannons posted and menacing on the mainland, ready to mow them down at the first sign of insurrection. It is also offset by the staunch catholicism of the islanders, as the two protagonists carry their individual crosses. An absolute gem of a film, superbly directed and acted.