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Review - Zonad
This enjoyable farce about an escaped convict who convinces the populace of a small village in Ireland that he is an inter-galactic space traveller represents a change in direction for writer/director combination, John and Keiron Carney. Keiron in particular, has a back catalogue that is far removed from the comedy content we see in Zonad, that includes domestic drama ('November Afternoon'), award winning suspense ('On The Edge') and gritty drama ('Park').
Avoca, a village in County Wicklow, is used as the set for Zonad, and if it looks familiar then that is because it was also used in TV's 'Ballykissangel'. Re-named Ballymoran, or 'Baile na Amadain' in Gaelic, this translates as 'Town Of Idiots'. Nothing could be nearer to the truth.
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To be fair to its residents a meteor has crash landed nearby, so when the Cassidy family arrive home to see a stranger sprawled on the floor of the living room, dressed in a red female sex suit and a bicycle helmet worn backwards, the sight is so shocking, that everyone, and especially Zonad, is happy to go with wee Jimmy's conclusion that he is from outer space. Irish hospitality soon knows no bounds and Zonad is embraced by the villagers as an inter-galactic celebrity. In fact Zonad is on the run after escaping from a local penal institution during a fancy dress outing. With a never ending beer tab at Fitzgerald's and every woman in town wanting to shag him, Zonad is enjoying himself so much that he forgets that he was supposed to be going to get help for a fellow escapee.
When Bonad (David Pearse) makes a sudden appearance, announcing he is Zonad's superior officer, things take a turn for the worse for our hero, and it is Bonad who becomes flavour of the month. There are some good sight gags and an amusing fight scene between the two boys, and Janice Byrne is sexy as Jenny Cassidy. Stephen Delaney plays Zonad with enthusiasm and we enjoy plenty of laughs at the expense of the gullible locals. The film finishes strongly, and in fine Irish tradition, and has been well received as far away as Shanghai, but also at Robert de Niro's sophisticated Tribeca film festival in New York. Comedy is not a universal language however and it fell flat in Germany, whilst the Dublin Evening Herald hated it. Tricky then to please all the people, all the time. If you liked 'Father Ted', then Zonad is definitely your cup of tea.
Rating :6/10 Zany
Review written by John Franklin : November 2010
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