A middle-aged family man undergoes a crisis of masculinity and sexuality in writer/director Peter Mackie Burns' (Daphne) brilliantly performed Dublin-based drama.

At 46, Colm (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) has a comfortable life: a managerial job in the city’s docks, two healthy teenage children, and a kind, loyal wife in Claire (Monica Dolan). After the death of his father, a destructive figure, Colm’s emotional life cracks open, and his downward spiral continues when he is made redundant. Drinking heavily and unable to confide in Claire, Colm finds himself drawn to Jay (Tom Glynn-Carney), a 19 year-old who dabbles in prostitution. Their sexual encounters and tentative friendship become Colm’s only solace from the pressures he feels – but this recklessness puts his family-life at risk.

Masculinity, familial dysfunction and the very nature of love come under the microscope in this nuanced and powerfully affecting drama centred upon a stunning lead performance by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

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