"Garage".




There might be some little spoilers ahead. Be aware. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Josie (Pat Shortt) is an amiable, inoffensive, none-too-bright man who works in a garage. He has been at the garage for such a long time that the job is his whole life. Outside of visits to the pub and the shops, Josie lives, eats and sleeps in the garage. Josie is gentle and harmless and a figure of (mostly) good natured fun for the people in the community.

One summer, the owner of the garage hires a teenager called David (Conor Ryan) to work at the garage alongside Josie. After a slow start, Josie builds a tentative relationship with David, and David's friends, but trouble lies ahead...

For a while "Garage" appears to be going nowhere and is in no particular hurry to get there. It comes across as nothing less than a kind of adult, big screen version of Channel 4's "Father Ted". Eccentric Irishmen sporting funny accents going about their idiosyncratic business . (Don't get me wrong. This is not a criticism. I loved "Father Ted". Still do, actually). Then, with a third of the running time still to go, "Garage" takes a turn towards the dark when the innocent Josie fails to realise the limitations of a friendship between a middle aged man and a teenager. "Garage" becomes much more than just a comedy. It becomes a tragicomedy.

I think that "Garage" is a wonderful little movie. It starts slow and gets better. If you have the patience to stick with it, "Garage" will stay in your head long after you have finished watching it. That is the mark of a great movie.