Film Review: Mammal

Directed by Rebecca Daly. Starring Rachel Griffiths, Barry Keoghan, Michael McElhatton.
96 mins. In cinemas April 1

An elliptical, elegiac character study that explores loss, connection and the Freudian lines between the maternal and sexual, Rebecca Daly again proves herself a director of uncompromising intelligence with Mammal.
Rachel Griffiths’ strength and melancholy come to the fore in her portrayal of Margaret, a woman whose existence is almost aggressively passive. Working in a second-hand shop with no friends, with a house shared only with non-committal lodgers and stray cats,
Margaret seems not to own anything in her life. When it is revealed that she abandoned her child years ago, a teenage boy now missing, it remains unclear if her isolation is actually self-punishment.
This ambiguity again emerges when she encounters young delinquent Joe (Barry Keoghan) and offers him shelter. As Joe’s swaggering defences drop and the two forge a connection built on an acceptance they don’t find elsewhere, their relationship walks a razor’s edge between familial and carnal – and Daly doesn’t shy away from suggesting that it could be both. As the director’s camera lingers on Joe’s wiry frame and emerging biceps, the male gaze is inverted and shown through a prism; the elaboration of female desire refreshingly pushed to
the fore.
Keoghan, known for his roles in Norfolk and Love/Hate, again showcases his raw talent, balancing Joe’s volatile bravado with his filial vulnerability. It’s his sense of mischief and unexpected assuredness that allows Griffiths to embrace the deeply-buried joy and need of her character.
As Daly’s patiently observant camera work and minimal soundtrack underscore the elegance of the quietly unfurling screenplay, themes of surrender and trust are represented through images of water and choking – until the sheer amount of baths the characters take becomes absurd (they’ll no doubt be praying for the abolition of Irish Water in the next Dáil). It’s the one laboured aspect of this smooth dive into the depths of desire.