Sensation

When an Irish farmer dies, his sole heir Donal is left some land; but Donal hasn’t inherited much in terms of social skills. Despite the encouragement of his gobby best mate Karl, he finds it hard to talk to women, and in frustration turns, almost inevitably, to the Internet. He hooks up with Kiwi call-girl Kim, who harbours a business plan that would see her off her back and behind a desk, greeting punters at her own brothel. Donal’s newfound means might provide her with the money she needs, but what might Donal be getting out of the deal? And what demand is there for the services of prostitutes in rural Ireland, anyway? Tom Hall’s Sensation is a refreshing and rare film, a disarmingly subtle sex comedy that’s funny, smart and touching. The relationship between Kim and Donal develops so deftly that the audience can never be convinced she’s just playing the angles or he’s only being taken for a ride; there’s something more complex going on here. Luanne Gordon is great as the world-weary hooker looking for a way out, while this deserves to be a breakthrough role for Domhnall Gleeson, who makes Donal much more than the lonely dope he first appears, endowing him with depth and sympathy. —Michael Hayden