In order to tell the story of sean-nós singer Joe Heaney, Pat Collins blends a documentarian’s attachment to authenticity with a poet’s flair for innovation and unconventional storytelling. A biopic not quite like any other, this measured, oblique but luminous film unfolds in a series of long held shots and scratchy newsreel clips to show how Heaney (played by Michael O’Chonfhlaola, Macdara Ó Fátharta and Colm Seoighe, as well as the addition of archive material) emerged from rural Galway in the mid-20th century and ended up performing at the legendary Newport folk festival with the Clancy Brothers in the late 60s. Along the way he performed in pubs, helped build stone walls and worked as a doorman in New York City. However, the biographical details are of far less interest to Collins than the music, and the film will be a particular delight to lovers of Irish folk music, with its keening textures and melancholic tones. The monochrome visuals by cinematographer Richard Kendrick are reminiscent of antique photogravures, especially in the early Galway section, evolving into something redolent of classic Life magazine photojournalism and Magnum at its best.
