52 Films by Women Vol 7. 1. JOYRIDE (Director: Emer Reynolds)
The casting of Olivia Colman in Irish editor-turned-documentary-maker-turned-feature film director Emer Reynolds’ Joyride is both a blessing and a curse. Blessing because the Best Actress Academy Award winner gives the film a marquee value it otherwise would not have had – it is playing for a second week at my local multiplex, which for a low-budget Irish road movie is practically unheard. Curse because Colman is neither Irish nor the right age for the part she is playing. To accept the 48-year-old Colman as a new mother is a bit of a stretch. You just have to go with it. However, there are scenes when her character Joy tries to breast feed – the film doesn’t shy away from nipples put to natural use – and you are acutely aware that a maternal stand-in was used. Showing female breasts in unheard of in Irish cinema. I sensed that Reynolds was making a political point. Breast feeding in public should not be outlawed, although a mother may prefer privacy. Prudes and conservat...