19/07/2023 - Jack Armstrong’s debut attempts to dig deep into the perverse world of showbiz by zooming in on a bunch of bizarre characters, but ultimately loses its grip

Jack Armstrong’s debut feature, titled Made in Dublin, is a good example of how creating interesting characters may not be enough to craft a compelling tale. The picture, which had its world premiere at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh, attempts to dig deep into the perverse world of showbiz by zooming in on a bunch of crazy, shady individuals — alcohol and drug addicted Academy Award winning director Brendan Bloom (played by veteran Paudge Behan); his beautiful ‘A-list wife’ Martha Laine (Maria Branagan); desperate aspiring actor Finn O’Connor (Stuart Cullen), who waits tables at a fancy restaurant in Dublin; lonely drag queen Des Temple (Jonathan Delaney Tynan), who has lost his loved one and is further traumatised after being victim of violent burglars; and Cara (Maya O’Shea), a young femme fatale who seems to have her own weird idea of justice.

The picture is divided into a few episodes focusing on some of the aforementioned characters — some of their stories intertwine and collide, others don’t. That being said, the characters played by Cullen and Behan seem to take centre stage after their first turbulent encounter at the restaurant where the former works. Through these two characters’ personalities and their dialogue, we understand there is an attempt to criticise — or at least comment on — the current state of showbusiness, from both a generational perspective (the old guard fighting against the youngest, who are often labelled as spoiled and incompetent) and a more systemic one (which depicts it as an industry made of favours, personal connections and abuses). 

Overall, the dialogues are brilliant and entertaining, and they may set high expectations about where the story might be leading the viewers to. Unfortunately, Bloom and Finn’s relationship takes a too absurdist turn, leading to a final confrontation that lingers between the ridiculous and the nonsensical. The characters could close their narrative arc in the way chosen by Armstrong, but what is missing here is some more time (and action) that would allow them to ‘grow’ together before clashing with such intensity.

One reason why there is no such room for the two characters’ ‘growth’ is that at least half of Made in Dublin is devoted to parallel storylines such as those of Cara and Des. Both have little to do with these powerful core themes, and ultimately weaken the decent potential of Armstrong’s film. Further proving this point is the fact that their paths don’t even boast a proper ending.

On a more positive note, the whole cast does a fair job, and the microcosm of characters built by Armstrong and his co-writer Chris Harris are pleasant enough for a 102-minute viewing. Spectators shouldn’t expect too much depth or a rewarding ending, because these are simply not there, but what remains is a commendable attempt to talk about the perverse world of showbiz through the prism of a less mainstream city.

Made in Dublin was staged by Irish outfits Revolution Media and Quanta Capital.