| DVD review: True revelations in Traveller’s
tale Pavee Lackeen
 Pavee Lackeen —
The Traveller Girl — is a fascinating and unflinching look at Traveller
life in modern-day Ireland.
Writer and director Perry Ogden and co-writer Mark Venner have taken something
of an organic approach to filmmaking, mixing inspired-by-real-life situations
with improvised dialogue from the case of mostly non-actors from the community
itself. The result is an intriguing mix of drama and documentary style.
Indeed, it’s perhaps because of that style that the film —
in which, to be frank, not a lot happens — still manages to linger
long in the mind.
The focus of the film is 10-year-old Winnie Maughan who lives with her
mother Rose and siblings in an old trailer parked in one of Dublin’s
less appealing industrial areas. Over 88 minutes the film follows Winnie’s
interaction with her family and friends and the issues they are facing
such as the attempts to move the family into permanent accommodation.
By taking such an unusual viewpoint, the film’s sense of reality
shines through, making strong points about this community’s social
status and problems without ever becoming preachy. The trust between director
and non-professional cast is also remarkable. There’s nothing stilted
about the dialogue, no sly sideways glances at the camera and no indication
the filmmakers are intruding at any time. It just feels natural and, perhaps,
gives a deeper indication of Traveller life than a straight documentary
would have done.
From a cinematic point of view, a film with no real beginning, or end
or middle for that point, should be a frustrating mess. In Ogden’s
hands it’s quite the opposite. The open-nature of this portrayal
suggests the on-going problems with poverty and bureaucracy faced by this
marginalised community.
Winnie is remarkable and has more presence and charisma than most formally-trained
child actors. Better than that though her performance gives the film its
emotional resonance without ever resorting to standard tricks and overt
tugs on the heartstrings. An intelligent, interesting and haunting film.
Neil Davey
Directed by Perry Ogden. |
