Category: Cinema Around the World

Overview: During his summer between college and university, middle class teenager, Richard, makes a mistake that threatens to destroy his life. 2012; New Video Group; Unrated; 88 minutes. What Richard does: This perturbing moral drama from the acclaimed Irish director of Frank, Adam And Paul and Garage, is loosely based on Kevin Power’s 2008 novel, Bad Day In Blackrock. Not to be confused with the 1955 Spencer Tracy film Bad Day At Blackrock, Power’s novel shares similarities with a real life event involving Irish teenager Brian Murphy. Although not a fictionalised account, viewers not already familiar with this news story are advised to look it up only after seeing the film. As the cryptic title suggests, What Richard Did is enhanced by the mystery of what Richard (Jack Reynor) will eventually do. Director Lenny Abrahamson’s unveiling of these events is remarkably understated and they appear entirely plausible. As a result his drama challenges expectations and remains deeply troubling. That the consequences of Richard’s actions are only fully comprehended the morning after, magnifies the gap between ‘then’ and ‘now’; the clock cannot be turned back and Richard must face up to the reality of his much altered future. The cost of one simple mistake seems insurmountable and, in the wake of this panic, Abrahamson’s slow and deliberate style momentarily gives way to bursts of action before settling into a steady...