Céline Roustan
As Julie pays a visit to her elderly mother, Aoife, a new stove is supposed to be delivered that day, but the older woman doesn’t want to hear anything about it. So begins an arm wrestling match between a daughter, concerned for her mother’s safety and wellbeing and a mother who feels stripped of her independence and habits. In this poignant family drama, Dún Laoghaire, writer/director William Lancaster paints a very moving picture of a universal situation, when a child has to take care of an aging parent.
Dún Laoghaire is a memory piece based on my experiences visiting my grandma in Ireland
Most of us are at that age where we’ve seen our parents trying their best to care for their own mother/father, only to be met with resentment. Thus, it came as no surprise when Lancaster shared that his film comes from his own personal experiences of visiting his grandma in Ireland, with the short actually shot in her house. And the superficial antagonist of the narrative, the stove, also comes from his real life, as upon landing one Summer, his aunt specifically informed him “Don’t bring up the stove”. Lancaster qualifies the film as a “memory piece”, having witnessed similar situations multiple times, with time allowing him to be able to see and understand “both sides”.
The emotional strength of the film is that we end up empathizing with both characters, as we find ourselves facing this unavoidable situation with them. Through mundane moments leading up to the stove’s delivery, we get a good understanding of the dynamic between the mother and daughter and the cycle they are now caught in. Lancaster managing to grasp all the inner frustrations of his two protagonists without ever letting them voice them. While the situation is indeed sad, the director infuses dark humor into the narrative, just like in real life, where there are always moments of albeit dark levity. The simmering anger was also an engaging way to dictate the pacing of the film, making the climax all the more effective and cathartic.
Stella McCusker playing the role of Aoife, the mother, in William Lancaster’s Dún Laoghaire
Trapped in that one location, with a dialogue driven story, Lancaster and DP Shane Bagwell allow the performances to be the focal point by limiting camera movements and making the actors occupy most of the frame. Lesley Conroy and Stella McCusker, as Julie and Aoife, are incredible, nailing the mother/daughter chemistry, especially in this situation where unconditional love is also mixed with anger, frustration and anxiety. Both are able to show the sides of their characters that they refuse to share with one another and their genuine bond infuses even the passive-aggressive comments with humor. This dynamic ultimately contributes to the authenticity of the situation the film captures.
Ahead of its online premiere today, Dún Laoghaire made its way around the festival circuit with notable stops at PÖFF Shorts and Palm Springs. Lancaster is currently working on various different projects, including editing a documentary he directed about the 40th Anniversary of Rambo: First Blood. He is also developing a half-hour comedy series, a few shorts and a couple of features, including the screenplay for the Dún Laoghaire feature.