Writer and Director: Maurice O’Carroll
Swing Bout, Maurice O’Carroll’s low-budget boxing thriller packs a real punch.
We’re in Ireland, backstage at a minor boxing venue with the lowliest of the contestants, a handful of young women are hoping to go on for a swing bout. They won’t necessarily be picked, but they’re putting their all into final preparations. Nostrils flaring, they snarl and shadow box, desperate to keep up their adrenaline levels.
The focus is on Toni Gale. Through headphones she listens to fiercely hypnotic inspiration: “Life is suffering. Life is pain. Death’s coming for us all.” The anonymous voice taunts her with cowardice. The lessons are harsh: “Face your demons. Face your dark side.” It’s a world away from Chariots of Fire. Glammed up Emma is Toni’s promoter and coach, seemingly tough but fair. The other girls include Mary Malicious and a particularly spiteful Vicki Dunne. We watch them squabble bitterly over who stole the other’s water bottle.
Bit by bit we piece together the roles of the other characters. Emma is involved with both Casey brothers, the sinister yet incompetent middle aged men who run the joint. Jack in his grotesquely shiny suit is constantly shoving coke up his nose. Micko Casey seems more suave. He deals with stress with a hip flask. Emma begins to look flaky.
Things start to go badly wrong when the police arrive to investigate the murder of one Tom Wheelan. It becomes apparent that one of the Casey brothers has hired men on the say-so of the other to threaten him, but it’s got out of hand. And there’s something else going on. There’s a secret bet being placed on the outcome of the swing bout. At the last minute, Toni is told she has to throw the fight, let the other girl win. She’s offered a cut of the huge sum involved, though we sense with this lawless crew that’s unlikely to be honoured.
The tension never stops, underlined by the off-stage sounds of a hyped up crowd and powerful pounding music (Bryan Pepper).
Cracks appear in the hard veneer of each of the girls. Vicki tells her coach dad she feels weird, that she doesn’t want to go out there. And there’s clearly something wrong with Mary, who having sustained bruising injuries in a bout, starts throwing up. The promoters assure everyone she’s fine – the medical team have given her the ok. We watch, horrified, as Toni’s hands are strapped up ready for a fight that can never be fairly won.
The final scene takes a brilliant swerve. We’re left open-mouthed at this brutal, corrupt world which exploits young women fighters.
The cast are superb. Ciara Berkeley is a thoughtfully tough Toni; Ben Condron and Frank Prendergast as Jack and Micko Casey play a mixture of comic and sinister; Sinead O’Riordan brings mystery to Emma and the other central fighters, Vicki and Mary (Chrissie Cronin and Megan Haly) capture the vulnerability that underlies their superficial menace.
The stunning cinematography is by Mark O’Rourke.
A thrilling thriller.
Swing Bout will be available on Digital Download from 12th May and can be pre-ordered HERE
