Parked Review

• 29th Nov 2011

Colm Meaney is Fred Daly, a watch-repairman who returns home to Ireland and finds himself homeless. Living in his Mazda in a car park overlooking the Irish Sea, he becomes friends with a fellow car-bound neighbour, Cathal, a 21 year old druggie played by Colin Morgan. Despite his increasingly dire situation Cathal focuses on turning Fred’s life around, encouraging him to develop a bond with an attractive music teacher and resolve his housing crisis.

As you’ve guessed, this is a film about learning life lessons and pushing yourself to achieve. Unfortunately, it falls short of being profound or moving. There isn’t enough emotion in this film to carry your interest through the whole film and it becomes incredibly slow. The key scenes are so far apart that you’ve lost interest by the time you get there.

The film is mired is some rather predictable dialogue and trite moments of bonding. There are a couple of funny match-making moments, as Cathal ingratiates himself into Fred’s love-life, taking charge where Fred can’t. But it just isn’t charming enough, there’s no real connect between Fred and Jules, the new lady in his life. The restraint in the film is reflected everywhere.

There are also some very tired vehicles for Fred’s timidity. At the beginning of the film he can’t jump of the smallest dive board at the swimming pool; by the end of it he can. It’s a clue to all of the major milestones in this film, the victories are so small and commonplace, they’re hardly victories at all.

The relationship between Cathal and Fred is unlikely and their mutual trust seems to happen too quickly over a series of events that wouldn’t inspire confidence in many people. Whereas we’re propelled through the story so that we’re resolving Fred’s problems, Cathal’s are never fully addressed. There is no focus on what Fred can do for Cathal in return, and considering Cathal’s issues eclipse Fred’s it becomes quite frustrating. I was always waiting for a tragic reveal on Fred’s past which justifies the film’s focus on him and how he has become homeless, but it never came.

The central problem with the film is that Cathal is where the film should’ve focused, there was a real story there. The boy who’s been kicked out of his home by a father, responsible for his Mother’s death, hooked on drugs and being chased by drug dealers – that’s a far more interesting plotline. Even the violence meted against him wasn’t compelling and came too late. This is not a film about the stark realities of drug use or even a cautionary tale. Cathal just becomes a vehicle for Fred to push himself a little more.

The cinematography and soundtrack are two things that do stand out for this film. There are some very well composed shots – Cathal’s final high is one of them as is the end of Fred’s car, which redeems the film somewhat. Essentially a slow moving film, without enough drama or emotion to be compelling in spite of the subject matter; it should have produced something more sad or desperate.

Maliha Basak