''A Date for Mad Mary'' is a 2016 Irish drama film directed by Darren Thornton. It won two

Irish Film & Television Awards The IFTA Film & Drama Awards are awards given by the Irish Film & Television Academy for Irish television and film, the awards began in 1999. The ceremonies recognise Irish creative talent working in film, drama, and television, and winners receiv ...

, including Best Film. Thornton and his brother Colin adapted it from

Yasmine Akram Yasmine Akram (born 11 March 1981) is an Irish-Pakistani actress, writer and comedian. She has written comedy sketches for the BBC and Channel 4, and played Janine Hawkins in the third series of '' Sherlock''. Early life and education Akram was ...

's one-woman play ''10 Dates with Mad Mary'' (2010).

Plot

"Mad" Mary McArdle (

Seána Kerslake Seána Kerslake () is an Irish actress. She is known for portraying the role of Aisling O'Dowd in RTÉ2 comedy-drama ''Can't Cope, Won't Cope'' (2016–2018). In 2017, she was named one of sixteen young actors by Screen International as a '' Star ...

), a young woman with a propensity for violent,

antisocial behavior Antisocial may refer to: Sociology, psychiatry and psychology * Anti-social behaviour *Antisocial personality disorder *Psychopathy *Conduct disorder Law *Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 *Anti-Social Behaviour Order *Crime and Disorder Act 1998 * ...

, is released from prison following an assault on another woman at a club. Upon Mary's return to Drogheda to live with her mother and grandmother, she tries to reconnect with old friends and acquaintances. Mary learns that her best friend since childhood, Charlene ( Charleigh Bailey), is getting married, and Mary spends a significant portion of the film writing her

maid of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen ...

speech to deliver at the wedding. However, as the film develops, it shows that there is a growing distance between Charlene and Mary, as Mary futilely attempts to arrange to spend time with an increasingly busy and uninterested Charlene. Mary signs up for a

speed dating Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process which has the purpose of encouraging eligible singles to meet large numbers of new potential partners in a very short period of time. Organization Usually advance registration is required for ...

service to meet men with the sole purpose of finding a 'plus one' to accompany her at Charlene's wedding, but each date ends unsuccessfully, with Mary unable to connect with any of the men. Ultimately, Mary desires only to find a man so she can impress Charlene and Charlene's friends, and prove that she could find a desirable man despite Mary's lack of interest in any of the men she dates. Meanwhile, while solidifying plans with Charlene's wedding photographer Jess ( Tara Lee), Mary and Jess strike up an unlikely friendship. Over time, Mary and Jess grow to explore their feelings and become more vulnerable with one another. The film climaxes with Mary accepting that she has developed romantic feelings for Jess.

Cast

as Mary McArdle * Tara Lee as Jess * Charleigh Bailey as Charlene *

Denise McCormack ''Red Rock'' is an Irish serial crime drama series, set in the fictional seaside town of Red Rock, that first aired on Virgin Media One on January 7, 2015. Focusing on the activities of the detectives of the local Garda Síochána station an ...

as Suzanne McArdle * Siobhan Shanahan as Leona * Barbara Brennan as Nan McArdle *

Norma Sheahan Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy * Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, La ...

as Sally * Ben Condron as Declan * Shauna Higgins as Julie * Jamiu Giwa as Udel * Mark Dunne as Scote * Tatiana Ouliankina as Oksana * Carolyn Bracken as a female prison guard * Susie Power as Rita

Release

''A Date for Mad Mary'' premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic on 2 July 2016. It won Best Irish Feature Film at the

Galway Film Fleadh The Galway Film Fleadh (; Irish for "festival") is an international film festival founded in 1989 as part of the Galway Arts Festival. Describing itself as Ireland’s leading film festival, the event is held every July in Galway city in Irela ...

, while

won the Bingham Ray New Talent Award. It was released on 2 September to critical acclaim.

Critical reception

The film retains a 94% positive rating out of 17 reviews on review aggregating site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. The reviewer for the '' Irish Independent'' said: "''A Date for Mad Mary'' is the best Irish film I've seen in a long time, and blends comedy, romance and pathos with extraordinary skill." Donald Clarke in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' complimented the film for being "an exercise in character study," remarking that it might be "a serious contender for best Irish release of 2016". In another positive review, Jessica Kiang in ''Variety'' called the ''A Date for Mad Mary'' a "winning Irish charmer" with "rounded supporting characters, its skewering use of language, and the pinpoint accuracy of its observations of life in this specific time and place." Fionnuala Halligan in '' Screen International'' called the film "special" and singled out Seána Kerslake's performance in particular, calling it a breakout performance. Guy Lodge in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called the film "Darren Thornton’s simple, lovable but oh-so-slightly barbed directorial debut" in a positive review that also singled out Kerslake's performance as Mary.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Date for Mad Mary, A 2016 films Irish drama films Films directed by Darren Thornton Lesbian-related films Films about weddings Films set in Ireland Irish LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films 2016 drama films English-language Irish films 2016 LGBT-related films 2010s English-language films