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	Rory O'Shea Was Here
	Damien O'Donnell James McAvoy, Steven Robertson, Romola Garai, Gerard McSorley, Tom Hickey, Brenda Fricker 2004		Two wheelchair-bound denizens of a home for the disabled become pals and fight for their right to live in relative independence. Sure, "Rory O'Shea Was Here" sounds insufferable, but what could have been mawkish or nausea-inducing is a likeable, sporadically obvious dramedy from the UK with a bit of genuine uplift. Michael (Steven Robertson), a timid young man with cerebral palsy, is resigned to the constant care he gets at the home. He seems to want nothing more than his limited mobility allows him, until rebellious Rory O'Shea is admitted to the facility. Rory, played with fire and charm by James McAvoy, is starting to suffer from the degenerative stage of muscular dystrophy, yet he's furious about being treated with condescension by those mandated to help him. Shaking up his fellow internees, Rory recalls the defiant McMurphy from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"; he earns the ire of the home's staff, and wins Michael's friendship. Rory and Michael plan to move out of the home and into a shared apartment in Dublin. But they won't be able to relocate unless they convince the government board in charge of assisted-living programs that their disabilities won't hamper them. Throughout the film, the rights and needs of the disabled are addressed with humor and pathos. With Brenda Fricker as the director of the home, and Romola Garai as a cute shopgirl who Rory and Michael ask to be their caregiver.


	Wednesday, November 13, 2024





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