Diagonaldi Very well executed

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

runamokprods Jack Reynor and Toni Collette both do extremely powerful work in this study an Irish working- class lad in his early 20s trying desperately to deal with his mother's raging suicidal alcoholism. There are a number of deeply disturbing scenes between them, and other that are truly heartbreaking. It's not often we see two actors bring such complexity to what could easily have been familiar and forced. But there's something off in the film – the script tends to go wordy and oddly theatrical at times, although at others it's gratifyingly understated. (It's much better when it's showing instead of telling). And the interesting - but seemingly left field - story line/moral dilemma of the last 15 minutes seems weirdly stuck onto the far more interesting and coherent central plot. Still, it's very worth seeing for the performances (including Will Poulter as Raynor's only good friend), but it feels like an interesting film that sadly missed a shot at being a great one.

pimlican Glassland has been on my radar for a long time. In my old pre-children life I know that we would have got to the cinema for it for sure, as the second I heard the jist of it it sounded appealing. I am a fan of grim, gritty movies, English directors Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Shane Meadows are some examples of my favourite film makers, and I do believe that this part of the world does grim in a way that Hollywood just simply could even begin to capture.The 6.1 review did cause mild surprise, however I also note that a mere 245 individuals managed to brave the movie. Not everybody would say this type of raw drama is their cup of tea, I get that. I have friends and acquaintances who would have zero interest in watching a movie that dealt with pain, misery and social deprivation. Many prefer watching something that leaves them happy and unchallenged. I respect that, but don't share the view.Glassland looks at a mother-son relationship that has been flipped on its' head - John (Jack Reynor) the son has to mind his alcoholic shambles of a mother Jean (Toni Collette), and does so through hard work, maturity and self sacrifice in the face of apathy and an unswerving appetite for destruction. It's not pretty. Already a fan of Toni Collette, I now have serious respect for her. This was far from a handy role, and was hardly chosen because it might enhance her career. Must have been a tough, emotionally challenging role to play but she carries it off with aplomb. Although her Dublin accent was not perfect, such was the overall quality of her entirely plausible performance in capturing the essence of this trouble lady that any shortcomings in pronunciation felt trivial. She is truly magnificent.Reynor also picks up from where he left off after his brilliant acting in What Richard Did, and offered another reminder that we will, in all likelihood, be seeing plenty more of him in the coming years.Honestly, not an awful lot happens. It is not a barrel of laughs. But if you enjoy convincing social realism with no frills direction and strong characters inhabiting a recession era Ireland in a way that is both authentic and sombre, then there is much to admire in Glassland

leonblackwood Review: Although this movie is about a deep subject matter, I still found it quite boring and depressing. The whole tone didn't seem to change from the beginning to end and I didn't really get the moral of the story. Anyway, the film is about a young cab driver called John (Jack Reynor), who looks after his mother, Jean (Toni Collette) who is slowly killing herself with alcohol. One day he comes home from work to find her passed out in bed, so he quickly rushes her to the hospital so they can revive her. The doctors tell him that she is really pushes her addiction to drink, to the limit and that she really needs to get help so he decides to put her in a rehabilitation centre so she can get clean. His best friend, Shane (Will Poulter) decides to leave Dublin but John can't go with him because he looks after his disabled brother, who the mother has disowned, and he's worried about his mum's health. He then gets told that his mother can only stay in the centre for a little while but there is an opening at another home which costs quite a bit of money, so he has to take on a people trafficking job to pay for her stay. After his friend leaves, he's left all on his own to try and pull his family together, with no support from anyone. It's quite an emotional movie with some good acting, especially from Toni Collette but I was left feeling quite depressed. There isn't any major twisted or surprising changes to the storyline but you can't help feeling for poor John who just wants the best for everyone. The emotional scene at the airport, when Shane leaves, shows that John really did want to leave to better his life but he has a good heart and his family come first. Anyway, you do have to be in the right mood to watch this deep drama because it definitely isn't upbeat. Average!Round-Up: Jack Reynor, 23, must have thought that he had won the lottery when he got a role in the lead alongside Mark Wahlberg in Transformers: Age of Extinction but the movie received mixed reviews and it got panned by a lot of the critics. I personally didn't think it was that bad. He also starred in Vince Vaughn's Delivery Man and he stars in the upcoming Macbeth with Michael Fassbender so this small budget movie definitely hasn't damaged his reputation. The film was written and directed by Gerard Barrett who brought you the highly acclaimed Pilgrim Hill, which I personally haven't seen but at 28 years old, I can honestly say that he didn't do to bad job for his 2nd project. I think that he should have given the storyline a bit more substance, from a entertainment point of view but he put together an emotional movie which some people will be able to relate to. All of the cast was a perfect choice for the subject matter but I did find myself drifting off after a while.I recommend this movie to people who are into their emotional dramas about a young teenager having to look after his alcoholic mother. 3/10

Tom Dooley John (Jack Reynor) is a taxi driver in Dublin; he works the graveyard shift and comes home to his mother. She is addicted to alcohol and one day he arrives home to find her overdosed in bed. This is the wake up call he finally realises for him to make an attempt to save her from herself.The thing is he is going to need money to help her if it is going to work and that is when he turns to an easier way to make money and this will take him places he never really wanted to go.Now this can be a difficult watch in places. Toni Colette as his mother is just spellbinding in her portrayal of a woman who has lost everything in her life except 'the silent friend' that comes bottled and makes things feel right if only for a short time. Reynor plays this with a straight forward sense of frustration beyond the limits of duration – but with a heart full of love. There are some sub plots too but this is essentially a relationship film with some twists. It is though a very well made and realised film that will do no harm to the careers of anyone involved – completely recommended.