FilmReview

Mrs Robinson

Reviewer: Maryam Philpott

Director: Aoife Kelleher

A documentary biography of former Irish President Mary Robinson had a screening at the Irish Film & TV UK’s (IFTUK) St Brigid’s Film Festival 2025 ahead of a wider release, charting the life and career of Ireland’s first female leaders and latterly UN High Commissioner. This 95-minute film directed by Aoife Kelleher and made in collaboration with Robinson who actively reflects on her experiences isn’t always as critical as it might be but is nonetheless an engaging explanation of how a career in public life develops.

Opening with Robinson’s inauguration as Irish President in the 1990s, Mrs Robinson looks to the past initially and her career as a lawyer meeting her future husband at Trinity College, Dublin and quickly becoming involved in women’s rights cases in particular. Kelleher thus sets the frame for – what this film argues – is a career in rights campaigning and political activism from within the system, using her various public positions to draw attention to human rights issues around the world and deliver support to individuals through her profile.

And it is argument that is well made across the life of Mary Robinson who helps to enact same sex marriage during her time in Presidential office and moves to a role in the UN before her term finished to take up a position in international human rights development. This cohesiveness across Robinson’s career is especially interesting and the film makes a strong case for a life of rational understanding and pragmatism used to improve the lives of people she meets, with the final 20-minutes offering a whistlestop tour of the many countries and communities that Robinson has engaged with, following her on specific visits with new footage of her recent trips and the positive reception she receives.

Yet, the film shies away from any real controversy with flickering references to negative stories and poor decision-making that could have a more meaningful impact on a rounded examination of her career. The consternation caused by Robinson’s early resignation in Ireland to move to America elicits an angry response from one talking head but is never fully explored as a constitutional or reputational issue for the politician and what she stood for. Likewise, a time when Robinson finds herself on the wrong side of the debate having put faith in the wrong people affords an apologetic admission but little insight into what that has and did mean for her international standing. A minor blemish on a more proactive career perhaps but a balanced documentary should lay out the information for an audience to decide rather than allow the creative team to take a stance by downplaying it.

With plenty of archive footage, photographs, new interviews and talking heads, Mrs Robinson nonetheless proves an interesting profile of a woman in public life who has used her platform to achieve a great deal for the rights of others and, whatever her legacy ends up being, she proves there is always more we can do.

Mrs Robinson screened at the Irish Film & TV UK’s (IFTUK) St Brigid’s Film Festival 2025.

The Reviews Hub Score:

Interesting profile

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The Reviews Hub Film Team is under the editorship of Maryam Philpott.

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