Pilgrim Hill

A slow-moving insight into the life of an Irish farmer, Gerard Barrett’s impressive low-budget debut documents the minutiae that combine to make a tragedy.

Ostensibly an examination of the particular plight of bachelor farmers in the countryside, Barrett’s naturalistic docu-drama offers a universal insight into loneliness, isolation, and the fear of leaving the world without any legacy. Joe Mullins plays Jimmy, a forlorn farmer with no companionship apart from his unseen, sickly father and a herd of cows. With only occasional, weightless interactions with local shopkeepers and the town chatterbox and chancer (Muiris Crowley), Jimmy’s life is one of quiet desperation.
Eschewing the usual “plaintive staring out of windows” trope, Barrett uses his documentary approach to give Jimmy a voice as he speaks about his childhood, desires and increasing hopelessness in sombre on-camera interviews. Pilgrim Hill echoes the work of Lenny Abrahamson, although almost plotless and completely humourless,