Kirsten Sheridan’s third feature is a loose, experimental depiction of a modern-day bacchanal as a group of five young Dublin outsiders break into a luxurious seafront house. At the eye of the storm is Jeannie (Seána Kerslake), who has been keeping a number of secrets from her friends. The arrival of concerned neighbour Robbie (Jack Reynor) leads to further questions and complications over a night of indulgence, experimentation, and revelation. Improvising from the director’s basic outline, the cast were fed information before each scene in order to add authenticity to their performances. This manner of working, combined with the film’s single location, adds to its sense of claustrophobia, and also gives it an effectively uncomfortable sense of tension as events unfold before the believably volatile characters. Visceral and challenging, Dollhouse is an unpredictable, unconventional work.

Notes by Kevin Coyne.