pimlican Glassland has been on my radar for a long time. In my old pre-children life I know that we would have got to the cinema for it for sure, as the second I heard the jist of it it sounded appealing. I am a fan of grim, gritty movies, English directors Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Shane Meadows are some examples of my favourite film makers, and I do believe that this part of the world does grim in a way that Hollywood just simply could even begin to capture.The 6.1 review did cause mild surprise, however I also note that a mere 245 individuals managed to brave the movie. Not everybody would say this type of raw drama is their cup of tea, I get that. I have friends and acquaintances who would have zero interest in watching a movie that dealt with pain, misery and social deprivation. Many prefer watching something that leaves them happy and unchallenged. I respect that, but don't share the view.Glassland looks at a mother-son relationship that has been flipped on its' head - John (Jack Reynor) the son has to mind his alcoholic shambles of a mother Jean (Toni Collette), and does so through hard work, maturity and self sacrifice in the face of apathy and an unswerving appetite for destruction. It's not pretty. Already a fan of Toni Collette, I now have serious respect for her. This was far from a handy role, and was hardly chosen because it might enhance her career. Must have been a tough, emotionally challenging role to play but she carries it off with aplomb. Although her Dublin accent was not perfect, such was the overall quality of her entirely plausible performance in capturing the essence of this trouble lady that any shortcomings in pronunciation felt trivial. She is truly magnificent.Reynor also picks up from where he left off after his brilliant acting in What Richard Did, and offered another reminder that we will, in all likelihood, be seeing plenty more of him in the coming years.Honestly, not an awful lot happens. It is not a barrel of laughs. But if you enjoy convincing social realism with no frills direction and strong characters inhabiting a recession era Ireland in a way that is both authentic and sombre, then there is much to admire in Glassland

MariaLoathesDTWig I bought this movie on DVD on Amazon UK a few weeks ago and I have no regrets ! It's a small but pretty impressive indie from Ireland with top-notch acting. Will Poulter is funny and believably boy-next-door, his accent flawless; Michael Smiley brings hard-won compassion as an alcohol counselor and the always magnificent Toni Collette gives once again a splendid performance. But this is Reynor's film and he holds the screen like a pro – always thinking, tapping, twitching with silent fury. John's a good guy but he looks like he wants to kill someone. That no such eruptions occur makes Glassland's power all the more remarkable. Well done.A must see.

Matteo Fossi I've never ran across a movie seriously addressing the topic of alcoholism, that is until I saw Glassland. Most dramas will show you the drunk dad who drinks too much because that's what some bad dads do in western culture, or the stressed mum who drinks too much because the bad dad did something bad. Glassland shows the true ugly colour of Alcoholism as an addiction and an illness. Based in Dublin, John (played by Jack Reynor), mid-twenties cab driver, has two problems to deal with: trying to save his single mother, Jean (played by Toni Collette) from alcoholism all while being unintentionally tangled in human trafficking as a cab driver while it affects his conscience despite that he needs the money to pay for everything as his mother just stays home and drinks herself to death.The little weakness that I found in Glassland is that our main protagonist, John, is the strong silent type, the very very silent type. Now, when it comes to me, i'm a dialogue crazed audience, fan of Kevin Smith and Tarantino. Some people love these strong silent type characters but me, not my cup of tea. I had the same problem with Ryan Gosling in Drive and Only God Forgives (but Only God Forgives was a terrible movie as most will agree) yet The Passenger with Jack Nicholson worked for me somehow, it might had something to do with Maria Schneider... Anyway, getting back to the movie, as the viewer, I felt very distanced and snubbed by the movie and protagonist's long moments of silence where little things just happened and you're expected to just be very emotionally cunning to comprehend them (which I thought I did on some occasions). The movie itself is aware of it's own overwhelming silence and slow pace by giving John a friend called Shane (played by Will Poulter) who is a 20yr old adorably cocky lad who says "grand" a lot of time. But it really does feel like Shane was added arbitrarily just to give some colour to a film that clearly doesn't want to be colourful.The undeniable strength of this movie is it's fearless and raw truth about how alcoholism affects people and the people around them with heart grabbing scenes with Toni Collette giving amazing performances as she always does and Jack Reynor (despite me complaining that he's too quiet) is pretty damn good in some scenes and has a lot of potential as a young upcoming actor. Jean also isn't just portrayed as the drinking monster but as a likable and suffering individual, noticeably shown in a scene where she explains why she is to John based on her resentments about having given birth to a child with down syndrome which she disowned after her husband left all of them due to that child. The movie also shows and reminds us how the public health-care system in many countries is useless and broken when it comes to helping people with mental illnesses and addictions. A movie worth giving a shot.

SLUGMagazineFilms Glassland is both a love story without sex, and a crime story without violence—a decided anomaly among just about every other film about life in an Irish slum. The love is between an overworked cabdriver named John (Jack Reynor) and Jean (Toni Collette), his alcoholic mother. As Jean drinks herself closer and closer to the grave, John's desperation to get his mother into a rehabilitation clinic despite their poverty leads him to question his own moral boundaries. Glassland is a melancholy, understated look at the combination of poverty and self-destruction that is so common in our society. Collette delivers a performance that jumps back and forth between snarling addict and penitent matriarch, and Reynor captures the pain and frustration of seeing a loved one spiral out of control. Despite the powerful performances by the film's actors, the film suffers from pacing issues that occasionally derail the film's momentum and muddle the narrative. Regardless, Glassland is a refreshingly modest take on issues that are typically addressed with more gratuitous filmmaking. –Alex Springer