New film throws spotlight on mental illness says mullingar director

A Mullingar native’s new feature film about a romance between a schizophrenic and a suicidal flight attendant has been tipped to be one of the Irish movies of 2015.

Terry McMahon’s film, Patrick’s Day, tells the heartbreaking story of Patrick (played by Moe Dunford), a 26-year-old virgin schizophrenic, and his love affair with Karen (Catherine Walker), a flight attendant who has her own mental health issues. The young couple’s attempts at making a life together are stymied by Patrick’s mother Maura (Kerry Fox), who misguidedly believes that she knows what’s best for her troubled son and enlists the help of a wayward policeman (Philip Jackson) to achieve her goal.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Terry, who wrote and directed the film, says that the subject of mental health and sexuality is one that has interested him since he trained as a psychiatric nurse in the 1990s.

“I saw parents and guardians come in at the weekend and they always loved the people there but when they showed any aspirations towards intimacy or sexuality it was often shut down as if it was an aberration. It’s always fascinated me that if given the moral authority to repress something how far people are willing to take it.

“If you have someone who has mental health issues and are overly protective, to what degree are you going to lie to them and to what degree will you deny something ever happened for what you think is their own protection? It’s the difference between reality and illusion, love and hate, the difference between how far we are willing to go to protect someone and how close that can be to hurting them.”

The film, which is released nationwide on February 6, has been on the international film festival circuit for almost a year and has picked up a number of awards, including three at the influential Woodstock Film Festival in the US and the audience prizes at both the Cork and Galway film festivals.

Unlike McMahon’s directorial debut – the ultra violent, low budget satire on post Celtic Tiger Ireland, Johnny Casanova, which he says was one the most “despised” Irish film in years – Patrick’s Day has been well received by film critics here. Among its army of fans is Donald Clarke of the Irish Times, who became embroiled in a war of words with McMahon after an excerpt of his less than favourable review of Johnny Casanova was used out of context on its poster.

While he is looking forward to the nationwide release of Patrick’s Day next month, Terry says he doesn’t know yet if it will be shown in his home town. If it is, he says that he would love to participate in a post screening panel discussion on the issue of mental health featuring local contributors including Bressie, who he praised for the “staggering courage” he has shown by speaking so “articulately” about his own struggles. Terry has taken part in panel discussions after a number of screenings, including one “extraordinary” evening at St Patrick’s psychiatric hospital in Dublin that was attended by patients and staff.

“Charlie Casanova was about a soulless, heartless individual. Patrick’s Day is the opposite. It’s full of real heart, soul and feeling. It’s been embraced around the world in a way that has shocked us.”