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On this page: THE LOST CHILDREN OF TUAM

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 4.Oct.26

The Lost Children of Tuam
Review by Rich Cline | 3.5/5

dir Frank Berry
scr Rebecca Lenkiewicz
prd Jules Daly, Liam Neeson, Chelsea Morgan Hoffmann, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe
with Monica Dolan, Andrew Bennett, Ian McElhinney, Ruth McCabe, Lalor Roddy, Eoin Geoghegan, Jonathan Heed, Deirdre Monaghan, Michele Forbes, Elaine O'Dwyer, Anne O'Riordan, Jack Hassett
release UK 9.Oct.26
26/Ireland BBC 1h24

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Another true story about horrific abuse of children and unwed mothers by the Catholic Church in Ireland, this is not an easy film to watch. But it's anchored by a riveting performance by Monica Dolan as the unlikely hero who tenaciously refused to let the truth be ignored. Director Frank Berry wisely keeps the camera close to Dolan throughout the film, giving real-life events a powerfully resonant kick.

In 2010, Catherine Corless (Dolan) was working on a research paper for a local history journal when she began to question the discovery of bones in a cistern where a mother and baby home once stood in Tuam. As she digs into the facts, she finds the names of 796 babies who died but were somehow never buried. The astonishingly high death-rate also hints at rampant neglect by the nuns, nurses who were charged with caring for these children. But to them, these illegitimate babies were barely human. And their mothers never knew what happened.

It takes Catherine nearly a decade to finally get official recognition of this situation. Through it all, she is supported by her patient husband Aidan (Bennett) as she contacts survivors, meets one of the sisters (McCabe) and doggedly pursues information she needs to outline the wider picture of these deaths between 1925 and 1961. The film only occasionally allows for glimpses of flashbacks. Instead, it focusses on Catherine's determined work to find answers for families.

Dolan brings a sometimes startling complexity to Catherine, a timid woman who doesn't like the spotlight. So watching her rise to the occasion is hugely moving, especially because Dolan refuses to indulge in the usual cliches of this kind of role: she keeps Catherine grounded and honest throughout. Her nuanced acting adds humour and emotion in unexpected places, and it helps to flesh out a minimalistic script that sticks to the facts.

While the narrative reaches a satisfying conclusion after almost 10 years of Catherine's tenacious work, it still stops before there is a call for accountability and justice for what happened. Perhaps that's why these stories continue to elicit shocked emotions from audiences, along with the fact that people who set themselves up as carers have emerged to be some of the worse villains. If there's any hope here, it's in the fact that we now know unequivocally that the kind of violence uncovered in Tuam must never be allowed to happen again.

themes, language 14.Sep.26

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL