One Hundred Mornings - A Review

Set in a world upended by a complete breakdown of society, two couples hide out in a lakeside cabin hoping to survive the crisis. As resources run low and the external threats increase, they forge an uneasy alliance with their self-sufficient hippie neighbour. With no news from the outside world they don’t know how long they must endure living in such close quarters, and with such limited supplies.

I don’t normally do film reviews, purely because I think there are plenty of people out there better qualified and more knowledgeable on the subject than I am, but in the case of One Hundred Mornings, I think I need to make an exception. I was invited to a private screening of One Hundred Mornings in the Odessa club last week, and suitably flattered and curious, I headed in to Dublin city to check it out.

One Hundred Mornings is an Irish apocalyptic drama written and directed by Dubliner Conor Horgan. As described above, the film revolves around two couples trying to ride out an unspecified collapse of civilisation. As the film progresses, tension begins to grow, both between the four central characters, and the world outside their cabin. This is all so masterfully portrayed and acted, that I could feel my stomach slowly knot as the story unfolded.

OK, please excuse me for a second as I (probably very unprofessionally) stray a little off topic. I have to admit, that I don’t consider myself a fan of Irish film (with the exception maybe of a couple of Roddy Doyle movies). As a general rule it bores me. Often, it depresses me. Sometimes, it even embarrasses me. It’s just that there always seems to be an air of cringe-worthy-wooden-actors-of-Fair-City, badly reading a terribly dreary script, all wrapped up in a film that looks like it was shot on a clapped-out camcorder. But before you hang me for this treacherous statement, let me freely admit that this is more than likely because of my own ignorance of Irish cinema. Right, that’s my tangent completed.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, so let me just say this: One Hundred Mornings changed my mind about Irish film. It is beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, perfectly written and seamlessly directed. The location is at times utterly breathtaking, and is the perfect setting for the movie. The story tackles some tough questions (sometimes with wicked black humour), but it never punishes you for wanting to know the answers. The over-all feeling reminded me of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (which I had finished just a week before; it broke my heart), in that in portrays both the beauty of the world we live in, and tragedy of what we take for granted.

One Hundred Mornings doesn’t have a general release yet (which is frankly upsetting), but if you do get a chance to see this fine film, I would urge you to take it.