Christy (Canty, 2025) is a slow-burning realist piece of drama set on the northside of Cork that is as funny as it is moving. You are introduced to the main character in Christy from the start, but takes the length of the film to get more of an understanding of his back story. His inability to find his way in the world and even a place to live and thrive, is told through these nuggets of information you get of Christy’s back story rather than being plot points in themselves.

You follow him on a journey where there are just as many people trying to help Christy as there are those trying to exploit his vulnerabilities. The hairdresser who gives him the opportunity for work comments on this herself by saying there are many welcoming individuals in Cork as there are those who look to cause harm. This is also the case with the characters in the film who it is easy to tell where their intentions lie in terms of Christy’s future. The half-brother (Diarmuid Noyes) is the only character who muddles this distinction between good and evil for Christy where at times he’s seen to be doing good by rehoming him but later in the film you see that he quickly wants to get him back out. It shows the conflicted interested that he is placed into, he wants to help his half-brother, but at the same time he also has his own family he needs to look after. The complexity of his feelings also intertwines with the unravelling of Christy’s backstory: the more you learn about Christy, the more you realise how important they become to one another.

This is a well made film that reflects life in Ireland in such a real way. It doesn’t denigrate an impoverished community but shows how they can come together and help those within it to find a place in society that they feel accepted. It illustrates how each individual has their own back story which can play heavy on their future, but like every coming-of-age film their is always the turning point in each young persons life. More importantly it manages to play on all of this but have many funny and endearing moments throughout. The cheekiness of the young kids who befriend Christy and the Cork community shine through where no matter what they are faced with, it is humour and humanity what brings them through.