Director Tom Sullivan
Starring Dónall Ó Héalai, Saise Ní Chuinn, Dara Devaney
Rated MA
Score 6/6
Set in Connemara in 1845 on the eve of the Famine. Colman Sharkey, a fisherman, father and husband takes in a stranger at the local priest’s behest.

Apparently Arracht is writer/director Tom Sullivan’s first feature and the movies is also known as Monster.
For those of you who might be wondering this is the first movie that I watched that is being screened at the Irish Film Festival. I have watched a couple of movies from Ireland in the past, but I really have not watched enough movies to be able to say anything comprehensive about Irish cinema. This is the type of movie that moves at what could be described as snail’s pace. Bleak and depressing are the first two words that come to mind when I describe this movie. This is a movie you should not watch if you are having a bad day, there is a chance that it could have you feeling worse. I know I had cried at least once by the time the credits rolled. But getting depressed after watching a movie set in Ireland on the eve of the potato famine is only to be expected.
Also, in the interest of experiencing the full impact Arracht of try not to watch this on a computer with the screen size of a laptop.
I really wasn’t that familiar with anybody cast in this, though I was impressed with the dynamic that developed between Dónall Ó Héalai’s Coleman Sharkey and Dara Devaney’s Patsy by the third act. I also hope that Saise Ní Chuinn gets cast in more movies in the future.