At first this movie was really hard for me to watch for some reason...mainly b/c i never seen James McAvoy play a role like this and he and his co-star Steven Robertson did a great job at staying in character.
Absolutely amazing movie, such a heart-warming story. Not for everyone (it deals with real life issues and even shows disabled people as normal humans *gasp*), but for those with a brain and a heart this is a must-see.
Not what I expected at all, a very somber film with a strong message about truly living life even when the quality of one's life is under limitations. Both characters are bound in wheelchairs, yet the spunky and fiery performance by the wonderful James McAvoy, really brightens it up and adds the needed humor. It also addresses the notions of love versus infatuation as the two friends both fall for their house aid and keeper. In the end, it is quite real, sad and bittersweet, tears and laughter....just like real life.
A very good movie with great performances by Steven Robertson and James McAvoy. If you like movies with touching story and good drama then this is a must watch for you. Strongly recommended to everyone...
Winner of the Audience Award at the 2004 Edinburgh International Film Festival, Inside I'm Dancing (Rory O'Shea Was Here, in the American version) will always be the film that made me discover a certain - at the time 25 year old - actor called James McAvoy. This is an extraordinary story of determination that fuses highly emotional drama with bracingly boisterous humor. Inspired by the experiences of real people, the film follows two young men with physical disabilities as they band together and seize an opportunity to savor life on their own terms.
Films about disability are tricky - how to keep them from being so worthy that they fail to touch us personally, how to avoid overwhelming sentimentality, how to cast actors who can play it convincingly. But Damien O'Donnell somehow manages all three.
All his life, Michael Connolly (Steven Robertson) has lived in the residential care of Dublin's Carrigmore Home for the Disabled. Michael has cerebral palsy, uses a motorized wheelchair, and has a significant speech impairment. Most people find it difficult to make out what he is saying, and simply stop trying. But Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy), a new arrival at Carrigmore, is not like most people - or any of the other Carrigmore residents. Rory is able to understand Michael. He has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a degenerative muscle-wasting condition. All Rory has are the use of two of his fingers, partial movements of his head - and unlimited use of his mouth.
These two young men form a friendship that empowers them to look beyond Carrigmore and its inflexible supervisor Eileen (Brenda Fricker). After the rebellious and outspoken Rory masterminds a field trip to a pub and a nightclub, Michael is emboldened and motivated to submit an appeal to Ability Ireland for a personal-assistance grant. His appeal is successful, enabling the two friends to move into a flat of their own and recruit the disarming Siobhan (Romola Garai) to assist them with their daily needs. Rory and Michael both develop growing feelings for Siobhan, and their rivalry for her attention only further accelerates their shared journey towards true independence and liberation.
Only remotely known in Britain, having played a small role in the cult TV mini-series "Band of Brothers" and another one in Wimbledon alongside Paul Bettany, spiky-haired, handsome McAvoy shows us how to be audacious and prominent without moving more than his face and two fingers. He has no disability in emoting while bound to the seat of a wheelchair. Garai is a composite of grace and sensitivity, with a beauty that is as internal as it is facial. Robertson is also great in his first real acting job and Fricker, as almost always, is a class act and richer in nuance and humanity than the stern administrator stereotype.
The manner in which director Damien O'Donnell and writer Jeffrey Caine deal with this issue is a praiseworthy effort to keep their story out of the make-believe and the over-sentimental, wisely keeping the emotional elements grounded in reality. Further to the good, the elements of casting and performance elevate the narrowly focused drama above that of the run-of-the-mill disability-of-the-month film. There is sorrow here but, at the end, one feels agreeable to having this obscure corner of society brought engagingly, if somewhat painfully, to our attention.
The film is made with a lively flair for life's vivid colourings, without ever wallowing in pity. The tone is mischievous, even dipping into corny comedy. So when things shift into emotional rawness we go right along with characters we've grown to love. And there are some incredibly sad scenes, which never lay on the weepiness and work simply because the material is so strong. This is an important film that will help us look at disability through new eyes. And entertain us in the process.
It is the best movie ever it really shows what it is like in a life of a person in a wheelchair.
Some of it is sad but is a good movie.
I also think that people should not take the mik out of people that are disabled for instance in a wheelcahir.
'Inside I'm Dancing' focuses around the two disabled characters of Michael and Rory. Michael has lived in a care home all his life and his speech is afflicted through cerebral palsy. He has a child-like quality about him, but he's extremely intelligent and knows his legal rights by heart. Rory is the irresistably likeable rebel with his bleached hair, pierced nose and rock and roll attitude, although he is confined to a wheelchair because of his muscular distrophy, he doesn't let it stop him from drinking, clubbing and chatting up the ladies. I don't claim to be an expert on disability, and I can't begin to imagine what it must be like to be affected by any form of disability but 'Inside I'm Dancing' represents people with disabilities in a stereotypical fashion, and then fantastically subverts it through it's wickedly witty script and genuinely brilliant characters. Steven Robertson, Romola Garai and James McAvoy all give outstanding performances and make their characters so believable and so likeable. The film raises some excellent points about disabled and 'able-bodied' people and their perceptions of the world, and most importantly it does so without being patronising or over-sentimental. Although this is a work of fiction, the film still challenges your pre-conceived ideas about people with a disability, and it is so refreshing to see a film that explores a relatively un-explored theme. Superb.
'Inside I'm Dancing' isn't a masterpiece, but the key to the film's success is that it doesn't have to be. It's seemingly simple, yet really an emotionally complex look at the world through the eyes of those with disabilities, but it doesn't conform to the stereotypical cliche's of overcoming some great struggle with pride and dignity. It's instead an amazingly real, sometimes brutally honest account of what makes people different, and how this label is as subjective as you or I make it. The acting is outstanding here, but it's Romola Garai as the characters able-bodied friend who really stands out, mainly due to being the most interesting and thought-out character - she seems fully formed whereas the other two only have ideas of who they are meant to be. Still this is a minor fault, as the script is often witty and amusing, and the film is well thought and well made - it finds a balance between humour and sensitivity, and never becomes soppy or too melodramatic. We admire it's truthful nature, different approach and inspiring story, even if we have seen this story before - because you have very different thoughts by the final act than those past films had to offer. If you're not discouraged by the sensitive issues of the film - which is totaly counteracted by the script - then there is a film here for just about anyone, and a good film that is more than worth watching.
What extraordinary performance by Romola Garai, James McAvoy but, most of all by Steven Robertson. He was so believable as Michael that I thought he actually had cerebral palsy. An what a deep, touching story, too. It almost made me cry and that is saying something because I really need to get into the movie to cry. Last time I did was while seeing LOTR back in 2003, and God knows how many movies I've seen in between.
Two friends, one with Muscular Dystrophy & a bad attitude the other a gentle sheltered young man with cerebral palsy take a flat together after leaving a personal care home and learn to live independently and with responsibility. Good performances.
Simple but heart-warming story about the plight and struggles of persons with physical disabilities. Very well-acted by the cast of James McAvoy, Steven Robertson and Romola Gerai.
A simply beautiful story of friendship and love. The performances from the three leads are pitch-perfect, and the story never veers into the realm of melodrama, as I expected it to. I saw McAvoy in "Last King Of Scotland" and I am enthralled with him. He has a future to be reckoned with!
Just be prepared to cry embarrassingly at the end!
Bittersweet comedy where director O Donnell does an admirable job of presenting the disabled protaganists as three-dimensional human beings, rather than overtly-sympathetic charity cases. If it wasn't for the cheese-on-toast coda, this film would be up there with the best tales of unconventional friendships. The two leads are absolutely mesmerising in their roles.
"Os Melhores Dias de Nossas Vidas"
Mostra dois jovens superando seus problemas em busca da felicidade: ficaria perfeito na Sessão da Tarde.
O assunto (dois deficientes tentando se virar) podia fácilmente apelar pro sentimentalismo sendo um desses dramalhões pra chorar rios, mas não é. Apesar de algumas cenas serem dramáticas e do tema ser triste, é um filme positivo.
Peca por ser um desses "filmes com lição de moral, pra aprender a apreciar melhor a vida, diversão pra toda família rir e chorar".
Mostra Dublin e sotaques irlandeses, o que é adorável. Só por isso já não é um disperdício de tempo.
I loved this movie!! It was so sad but it's worth watching!....It took me so long to understand the movie....after wathcing it over and over again I finally understood it. love this movie! It earns 5 stars from me!!
Poignant and emotional. Made me cry in several places. This is just a great movie, and it will probably give you a new outlook on how you feel about disabled people. I would classify it as drama, but it also has a bit of comedy in it.
the title 'inside i'm dancing' is pretty much a poetic way to say about what Rory O'Shea is feeling his whole life.. this is the story about disabled people (or people with special needs) who deserve a same kind of life like any man who wants to live his life to the fullest.. his Own life.. but, as you know it, sometimes people have judged you before they understand you, and so have you!.. and it doesn't make the struggle to be on your own any easier..
great performances by James McAvoy, Steven Robertson, and Romola Garai.. the interaction between Rory and Michael is what i call true friends for life..
all i can say for now is you won't waste your time watching this movie, this is a life-changing experience.. you'll be grateful that you can do every littlest things without frequent helps from others..
MCT:July 25, 2008
MCT:July 25, 2008
MCT:July 15, 2008
MCT:July 11, 2008
MCT:November 21, 2007
MCT:August 21, 2007
