Ken Loach returns to Ireland after his Palme d’Or-winning The Wind that Shakes the Barley. The period flits between 1922 and 1932, and there are other similarities here, most notably the history lesson that Loach aims to provide. So will there be an apple for the teacher? Maybe not, but his heart is in the right place.
Jimmy’s Hall is based on the true story of Jimmy Gralton (Barry Ward), who’s returned to County Leitrim after a decade away in New York City. He left under a cloud, chased out for his political leanings and big mouth. This charismatic character ran a dance hall that also doubled as a social centre, a place of learning (dance, literature, boxing) and debate for a population whose only other source of education is via the overbearing Catholic Church. He’s an autodidact whose mother ran the mobile library and his intelligence is feared and fiercely opposed by the local landowners and by the Church, seeing their power undermined.
After a little persuasion, he agrees to reopen the place, to the chagrin of local political leaders and landowners, and to the wrath of parish priest Father Sheridan (Jim Norton). At first we see the priest as an obvious foil to Jimmy’s socialist, modernising attitude, but Sheridan is more of a conundrum than this, and is perhaps the most nuanced of all the characters in the film. Whilst admonishing his flock for attending a dance – “What is this craze for pleasure?” – and angrily opposing Jimmy, he admires his courage and has his parishioners at heart. Norton also offers some light relief with some humorous back and forth with Jimmy, as well as his teachings.
Unfortunately, where the film falls down is in its own sermonising. When almost every character speaks, it rarely comes out as naturalistic dialogue but more as a history lesson or speech. There is little sense of debate, despite all the discussions we witness, including one on the poetry of Yeats. Nobody gets shouted down or interrupted, but more than that, nobody speaks like a normal person. When the dance hall is burnt down, Jimmy’s old flame Oonagh (Simone Kirby) looks at the charred books and says to her daughter that the knowledge taken from them lives on in her head. Whether the conversations dwell on history or personal stories, the language remains the same.
The issue of Oonagh and Jimmy’s unrequited love story is also problematic. I’m no historian, but I am not so sure that in 1932 rural Ireland married women with children were quite so free to hang out, often alone, with their unmarried ex boyfriends. So despite the history lesson that Loach has imparted here, we feel that we have missed out on watching the real stories of these very real and fascinating people. Nevertheless, Loach has created an impassioned and socially conscious film about a fascinating working-class Irish hero.
[Rating:2/5]
