Turning an ambitious feature into reality is never easy - it takes a special kind of dreamer to see this process through. Earlier this month at the Dinard British & Irish Film Festival, Film Ireland contributor Dolapo Agunbiade spoke with three such dreamers: producer Laura McNicholas, director Brian Durnin, and talented young actress Naoise Kelly. They discussed their feature Spilt Milk, its successful festival run, their thoughts on the characters, and expressed gratitude for its international acclaim.
Set in the flats of 1980s Dublin, Spilt Milk follows eleven-year-old super sleuth Bobby O’Brien (Cillian Sullivan). When his older brother, Oisín, goes missing, he and his trusted sidekick and best friend, Nell (Naoise Kelly), trade in their lower-level cases in hopes of cracking their biggest one yet. This coming-of-age tale reflects on the drug epidemic that plagued Dublin in the 1980s. The film carefully depicts how easily teenagers of that period were coerced by friends into substance abuse and how misuse led to the deaths of young men. Despite the troubling scene in which Bobby witnesses his brother’s friend overdosing, he is fearless in pursuit of the truth and does not stop looking for his brother, even when it puts him and Nell in jeopardy.
Just before the case of Bobby’s missing brother comes to a melancholic but satisfying end, his mother, played by Danielle Galligan, delivers a powerful message that rouses the mothers of the area to stand up to the drug pushers of their neighbourhood. The performances by adult actors Galligan, Laurence O’Fuarain (as John O'Brien) and Lewis Brophy (Oisín) are gripping, but it's the child actors Sullivan and Kelly who masterfully command the screen. Sullivan’s portrayal of Bobby’s valiant quest is heart-breaking, and Kelly’s depiction of Nell is no less powerful. Despite this being her first major role, she guides us through her character’s sensitive storyline with ease.
Although her personal circumstances are polar opposites, Kelly admits she shares some similarities with her onscreen persona. “I think I’m a little bit like Nell. I feel like she’s a bit of a messer. I can be a messer too. She also has that bit of matureness. In the film when Bobby is going out she says 'I feel like this is a terrible idea’." - a statement of caution.
Regardless of Kelly's injured leg, which presently has her on crutches, the young actress eagerly relays how she felt when she first got the role: “I was really, really excited. I did another feature called Twig where I had a little role, and I was really delighted to work with Brian and Laura.” Kelly offers advice to other young actors who hope to break into the world of entertainment: “In the industry, there’s a lot of rejection." she warns, but shares her secret weapon nonetheless: "In auditions, show your personality and don’t try to act like someone else. Just be yourself and hopefully you’ll get far.” McNicholas beams at Kelly while Durnin affirms her talent: “She’s a genius.”
Some goals, or dreams, require other strategies when it comes to achieving them. Producer Laura McNicholas shares how through initial Screen Ireland funding, she and quick-witted writer Cara Loftus were able to spend time fine-tuning the characters and focusing on their vision for the film.
This isn't just a first for Kelly, in fact, for the core members of the team - Loftus, McNicholas and Durnin - Spilt Milk is their also their debut feature film. This means it was essential that they were all in agreement about the story they were trying to tell. McNicholas says, “I loved the project when I first read [the script] and we ultimately made the film we wanted to make. Myself, Brian and Cara - especially when Brian came in - we were all very much on the same page. Which I know from experience is not always the case.”
Durnin echoes the sentiment and includes what appealed to him: “What drew me in was the central character Bobby O’Brien. It’s funny because Laura had seen a short film of mine which was loosely based on my childhood, where I basically discovered my dad was an alcoholic when I was about twelve years old." Durnin adds how much of what happened in his own home went over his head when he was younger. As he got older, the truth of his situation became more clear. "So I read this character and I realised that he’s on that same journey. Different circumstances, extremely different circumstances, but the family unit is what drew me in.”
As well as garnering a myriad of accolades during its festival circuit in Ireland, Spilt Milk has received significant international acclaim. “We screened [Spilt Milk] in Indonesia and they just got it. I thought some stuff might be lost culturally, but the audiences said how much it resonated with them. We did four Q&As and one of them went on for an hour and a half. It was all positive." Durnin added how it is not necessarily about drugs: “It was the outside forces trying to tear their family apart,” he notes. McNicholas then chimes in, “It’s not about addiction - this is part of the story, but really it is a family in crisis. I think that’s why people all over the world can relate to it.”
After the final scenes, Spilt Milk dedicates a message to the dreamers of the world; the more cynical may find it "cringy." However, the statement reminds us that we have permission to wield our childlike imaginations even in the midst of uncertainty.
This conversation took place at Le Grand Hôtel in the striking seaside town of Dinard, Brittany. That week, the local theatres were filled with enthusiastic French cinema-goers, all eager to catch the best that the UK and Ireland had to offer. Rupert Everett, Jennifer Saunders, and Ruby Wax served on the jury of the festival, where Spilt Milk was in competition. Although it wasn’t a win this time, the team's journey now is far from over; several screenings lie ahead, and a cinema release announcement is expected shortly.
