A Greyhound of a Girl
Roddy Doyle’s acclaimed children’s novel comes to the screen in a sensitive, family-friendly animated feature.
Image courtesy of Dazzler Media
This animated film based on the children's novel by Roddy Doyle is the work of the well-established Italian filmmaker Enzo D’Alò. It may be unexpected to find him opting to set a movie of his in Ireland but it is entirely in keeping with his desire to make films that appeal to children even if he always hopes that his work will also get a good response from adult audiences. Doyle’s 2011 novel lends itself to that since, rather than being any kind of a fairy tale, it tells a story in which a 12-year-old Dublin school girl, Mary O'Hara, is faced with the realisation that her beloved grandmother, Emer, is dying. Consequently, this is a work which tackles the subject of grief and death in a manner that seeks to be consolatory but not sentimental or escapist. Indeed, the novel appears to have been hailed as an outstanding work with the expectation that its readers would include many young teenagers.
Not having read the book I cannot say how closely D’Alò’s award-winning film follows it, but such was his concern to capture the setting authentically that he travelled to Ireland for the first time when preparing it. Furthermore, there is an extra bonus for those who favour films in English and sometimes have to put up with poorly dubbed versions when seeking out animated films made in Europe. Although A Greyhound of a Girl exists in a form featuring other languages, it is undoubtedly right to think of what we are seeing as the authentic version since it has a voice cast of Irish actors. Nor are we stinted in this respect since those involved even include Brendan Gleeson although his character, Mary’s dad, has only a relatively small part to play.
In the case of Sharon Horgan who voices the role of Mary's mother, she has a more substantial contribution to make but, even so, the outstanding characterisations here – both in terms of the animation and of the realisation by the voice actors involved – are Mary herself and her grandmother. The screenplay by the director and Dave Ingham, doubtless much indebted to Doyle’s book, makes Mary an engagingly forthright and sometimes cheeky young heroine and Mia O’Connor, who has not worked on a feature film before, delivers her lines with panache. But arguably the most memorable portrait of all is that of the dying Emer whose lively, outgoing character is so well caught by Rosaleen Linehan.
The overriding impression left by D’Alò's film is that it is a work made with a great deal of affection. Even so, engaging though it is, I am left questioning the film in a number of ways. In general, the widescreen animation is appealing but from time to time both Emer and Mary have dreams which are illustrated (in Mary 's case they tend to be nightmares). To portray them the visual style of the work changes drastically but, while one understands what is happening, the tonal shifts feel disruptive as they break up the register that has been set. In the storytelling too there are times when a sequence seems out of place. The most striking instance is a scene set in a supermarket and involving a security guard. What we see here plays like a sudden touch of slapstick comedy, an element quite out of place given the extent to which the film’s concern with death encourages a degree of realism despite the use of animation.
I would add that, whether or not it follows the novel in this respect, I was surprised to find the serious part of the film reserved for the most part for the last half-hour. That reaction may have been due to reviews that I had read which chose to describe what happens in this final section as though the car journey involved then was central to the whole film. Far better I think to avoid saying too much about plot developments although I can mention that these scenes clarify the role of another character who will become central and who is voiced by Charlene McKenna.
The way in which the film has been organised is such that its first half makes full play of the engaging bond between Mary and Emer while also finding humour in the scenes of home life with Mary's parents and her two young brothers and in the characterisation of doctors. In contrast a more emotional early note is struck when Mary discovers that her best friend, Ava (voiced by Amelie Metcalfe), is leaving to live in England. When the film’s second half brings death closer, it does so sensitively while carefully avoiding the risk of falling into sentimentality. From the start the film has touched on young Mary’s ambition to go to a cookery school in the hope of one day becoming a great chef and these scenes, echoed later, neatly blend comedy (over-critical judges) with the idea of Mary 's ambitions being linked to cooking in a way that carries on the traditions of her great-grandmother. A Greyhound of a Girl may lack unity of style, but D’Alò’s hope of having made a film likely to please both old and young is surely justified.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Voices of Sharon Horgan, Brendan Gleeson, Mia O’Connor, Rosaleen Linehan, Charlene McKenna, Paul Tylak, Jake O’Loughlin, Oscar Butler, Amelie Metcalfe, Fiona Condon, Lorcan Cranitch, Amanda Hurwitz.
Dir Enzo D’Alò, Pro Adrien Chef, Paul Thiltges, Mark Cumberton, Richard Gordon, Xenia Douglas, Vilnis Kalnaellis, Riina Sildos, Guy Collins and Arthur Kubiczek, Screenplay Enzo D’Alò and Dave Ingham from the novel by Roddy Doyle, Animation Dir Iulian Grigoriu, Character Des Peter De Sève, Background Des Thomas Von Kummant, Ed Gianluca Cristofari, Music David Rhodes.
Paul Thiltges Distributions/Jam Media/Aliante/Rija Films/Amrion Prod/Fish Blowing Bubbles-Dazzler Media.
89 mins. Luxembourg/Italy/Ireland/UK/Estonia/Germany/Latvia 2023. UK Rel: 28 June 2024. Cert. U.
