Irish period drama Monster is downright depressing. Of course, for some viewers, that’s just part and parcel of any period drama– without the scientific advancement, the philosophical debates, and the sheer convenience of the modern world, it can be easy to imagine a bleak past. But, like some of the best depressing period dramas, Monster makes clear just how bad things were and what we should never do again. Through depicting An Gorta Mór, or the Great Famine of Ireland, in the eyes of a small village, through visualizing the story so many people from Ireland have heard from previous generations, and through its strong performances, Arracht is a striking reminder of the trauma deliberately struck upon Ireland, the memory that is still strongly felt today.
Colmán Sharkey - a fisherman, a father, a husband - takes in a stranger at the behest of a local priest. Patsy, a former soldier arrives just ahead of ‘the blight,’ a crop disease that caused the Great Plague, killing and displacing millions of Irishmen.
Connemara, western Ireland, 1845. Colmán Sharkey takes on former Royal Navy officer Patsy Kelly as a farmhand for the family farm and as a fellow fisherman. However, when the Great Famine descends on the coastal town, Sharkey finds himself on the run for a crime he didn’t commit.
The language, which is fitting, considering the famine hit the nation so hard, Ireland lost many Gaelic speakers as a result.
Brutal.
Oscars
1 win
Berlin
2 wins
Golden Globes
1 nomination
BAFTA
1 nomination
SAG Awards
1 win
Spirit Awards
2 wins, 1 nomination
Nat. Board of Review
1 win
NYFCC
1 nomination
LAFCA
1 nomination
