A DATE FOR MAD MARY

"A Date for Mad Mary" is a small budget Irish comedy that arrived like a bolt from the blue into Irish cinemas last year. It never really did the business it deserved to and in a just world it would have been a world-wide indie hit, so if you missed it, seek it out as it's absolutely terrific. 'Mad' Mary McArdle, (star-in-the-making Seana Kerslake), has just been released from prison where she's been doing time for GBH, only to find she's to be Maid of Honor at her best friend Charlene's wedding. The problem is, she doesn't have a date to bring to the wedding.

This is the kind of feel-good movie we don't get enough of in our cinemas these days even if it has a dark core and a hard edge. It marked the feature debut of Darren Thornton, who co-wrote the picture with his brother Colin and for a fledgling director he handles his cast, young and old, male and female, with real aplomb; all the performances are outstanding. As Mary, Kerslake is never off the screen and she's superb but then everyone is. This is a funny, touching and up-lifting film and Thornton looks set to become the new Lenny Abrahamson.