Shambolic twenty-something taxi driver Eileen (Seána Kerslake) lives at home in Belfast with her irritating mother and pregnant sister. She takes a weekly booking from Shane (Patrick Kielty), a man in his forties, bruised by the recent breakdown of his marriage and attempting to rebuild himself through stand-up comedy. Over the course of their car journeys, these two lost souls form an unexpected connection and help each other to confront their demons. Ballywalter is a blackly humorous drama about the restorative power of friendship. Seána Kerslake is tough, vulnerable, and as watchable as ever while Patrick Kielty, in his creation of a complex, sensitive, and likeable soul, is nothing short of a revelation. Prasanna Puwanarajah directs from a script by Stacey Gregg (Here Before).

Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn

Screening as part of Best of Irish 2023.