Dawn Over Ireland: A long, dusty slog through family secrets

Is it worth your time?

Look, if you have a soft spot for historical dramas that feel like they were unearthed from a damp basement, go for it. If you want something snappy or modern, stay far away. This is the kind of movie that thinks staring out of a rainy window constitutes a major plot point.

It’s definitely for the folks who like their cinema with a side of generational trauma. If you hate movies where characters mumble about honor for two hours while nothing much happens, you’ll probably want to turn it off by the twenty-minute mark.

The vibe is… damp.

Everything in this movie feels like it hasn't seen a sunbeam since the 1800s. There’s a lot of walking through fields and looking sad at wooden tables. It’s got that specific, clunky melodrama you see in older stuff, almost like it’s trying to be For King and Country but without the budget to make the rebellion scenes look like anything more than a neighborhood scuffle.

The family dynamic is just exhausting. I spent half the runtime wondering why they didn’t just move to a different village and change their last names. But no, they stay there, taking abuse from everyone. It’s a choice, I guess.

Oddly specific notes:

• The British police uniforms look like they were pulled out of a bargain bin at a costume shop.
• There is a scene in the kitchen where the lighting is so dim I couldn't tell if someone was crying or just hungry.
• The dialogue? It’s very stiff. Nobody talks like that. Ever.

The bit where the grandson decides to join the IRA feels like it happened because the script suddenly remembered it needed an action beat. He just walks off-screen, changes his coat, and suddenly he’s a rebel. It’s not exactly the most earned character arc I’ve ever seen.

When the big reveal about the 'drop out' brother happens, I almost chuckled. It’s such a classic, tired twist. Oh, he was a spy? Of course he was. Everyone in this movie has a secret, and they all seem to have been keeping them for about forty years too long. 🙄

It’s not a bad film, per se. It’s just… a lot. It’s a bit like watching The Unknown but if the mystery was just 'why is everyone so miserable?' instead of anything actually interesting.

I think I need a nap after watching this. It’s just heavy, man.