Thomas Caffrey comes home in his review of Abode.
Of late, the phrase “that’s a bit Irish” has cropped up in my day-to-day conversations with increasing frequency. It’s always uttered with a bit of self-deprecation and a good helping of self-awareness. In the same way, writer/director Liam O’Mochain’s Abode is a bit Irish itself.
Abode is an affectionate film comprised of five shorts that center on the idea of home and what that word even means in an Ireland defined by record levels of homelessness, eye-watering rent, and ludicrous housing prices. This unifying thread runs through each story, quilting them together into a complete piece that is more than the sum of its parts; parts which are, by themselves, tender, timely, and consistently well-directed.
The first part of the film follows Carol (Marion O'Dwyer), an aptly named homeless woman in mourning who, on Christmas morning, hosts an impromptu Christmas dinner for fellow homeless Dubliners. Subsequent sequences depict a middle-aged widow’s date with an apparent Lothario, a family preparing to leave for some form of a function: might it be a funeral, a wedding? The remaining segments – new homeowners come into conflict with their voice-activated oven, young parents check into a hotel for time away from the kids – show a remarkable range, veering between dark comedy and fly-on-the-wall authenticity. The stories are never quite as simple as they initially appear, often climaxing in clear but effective twists.
Despite the often-sensitive subject matter, O’Mochain’s film never veers into mawkish sentimentality, sustaining throughout its runtime a charmingly Irish sense of humour. A lightness of touch accompanies tales of homelessness, the turgid legacy of Ireland’s mother and baby homes, and spousal grief. The presiding mode of static, fixed takes (courtesy of director of photography Joshua Bourke) recalls the social realist work of Mike Leigh and is complemented by intelligent, naturalistic, and lived-in production design from Martin Cahill. Small background touches and details – such as the carpet pattern from The Shining appearing as wallpaper in a pub – hint at the stories’ unexpected turns and lend the film a rewatchable quality.
The committed ensemble cast is composed of characterful faces familiar to Irish audiences: Mary McEvoy (Extra Ordinary), Ryan Lincoln (Kin), Anthony Morris (The Green Knight), and Rose Henderson (Fr. Ted) all excel in roles that are engagingly self-effacing. Brendan Conroy in the second segment is particularly striking as an aging dandy. His hair, casual hat-and-suit combo, and affected mannerisms may recall “Together Through Life”-era Bob Dylan, but his vocal register and physical mannerisms are a little closer to Hollywood, Wicklow than Hollywood, California.
Abode is an often very funny work that effectively mines the familiarity of Irish settings, accents, and situations, resulting in a film best experienced in a sold-out Irish cinema.
Abode is in cinemas 7th November 2025.
