The Plot: Famed hurler Gar Campion (Tony Kelly) is destined for better things, even if his father thinks he’s an idiot. After all, Gar was born one letter away from greatness. It’s in his blood, but so also is something that shouldn’t be there: performance-enhancing drugs. When the media gets wind of this surprise scandal, soon enough his glamourous social media influencer girlfriend Keeva (Sophie Vavasseur) abandons him and his future prospects are in ruins. So, he heads to Waterford to coach St Lawrence’s, a local team of middle-aged hurlers who, er, have yet to win a match. It’s down to him to turn around the fortunes of Ireland’s worst team and possibly himself too…
The Verdict: There aren’t many films about the fastest game on grass, but here’s an unexpected entry that has quietly emerged from the dressing room and taken to the crowded pitch. The Hurler: A Campion’s Tale is an independently-made Irish film that doesn’t have the backing of a distributor, but that hasn’t stopped Waterford-born comedian Tony Kelly from somehow getting it into cinemas nonetheless. It’s based on his one-man show and web series of the same name, expanded out into a feature film which allows space for more continuity and character development while potentially reaching a larger audience. It may be set in a hurling environment, but at its heart it’s an underdog and redemption story that takes itself seriously when it wants to, but also pokes fun at its ramshackle characters and their situations.
True to his one-man show origins, Kelly is a quadruple threat in that he writes, directs, acts and produces his feature debut. His sticky fingers are all over this sporting dramedy throughout and fortunately he’s an amiable onscreen presence that drives the film forward. His character of Gar isn’t the most likeable of characters at first – he’s full of himself and overconfident to the point of irritation, swanning into restaurants expecting to get free drinks and food. He needs to be brought down a peg or two and of course he’s the one to do it to himself. A failed drugs test sends him packing to coach a bunch of hurling no-hopers who are at an even lower point than him. Kelly’s script doesn’t try to reinvent the hurling rules here. It’s a recognisable enough story, just a slap of the sliotar away from the documentary Next Goal Wins and its upcoming dramatisation from Taika Waititi. Kelly even adopts the mockumentary format for his film, with Gar followed around by a film crew that turns in handy at one point.
So far, so familiar then as Gar starts to turn around the fortunes of his team and potentially gain the interest of former flame Ruby (Elva Trill) while batting off rival manager Craig (Sam Lucas Smith). It’s a loosely-structured film that varies from narratively-important scenes to randomly-inserted scenes of knockabout nonsense which only highlight that the editing could be a bit tighter and more focused. Kelly has a good eye for character detail though and that at least makes the film tick away while delivering a few surprises. It’s competently made and Kelly assembles his supporting actors with a lively team spirit that just about manages to hold the film together and make it an entertaining watch. Viewed from a certain angle, it looks like this film was made with a credit card and a camera by a bunch of mates on their weekends off (not necessarily a bad thing). The end credits even humbly announce themselves in advance. While The Hurler: A Campion’s Tale is more than one letter away from greatness, it’s on winning form thanks to Kelly himself and that’s enough to get it over the line and into the back of the net.
Rating: 3 / 5
Review by Gareth O’Connor
In short: On winning form
Directed by Tony Kelly.
Starring Tony Kelly, Elva Trill, Jon Kenny, Sophie Vavasseur, Sam Lucas Smith.