Irish Film Festival: No Party For Billy Burns

Set amongst the green, rolling hills of a small town in Ireland, No Party For Billy Burns is a film about a young man struggling with isolation. In the directorial debut by Padraig Conaty, this slow burn film follows wannabe cowboy Billy Burns (Kevin McGahern) who is laughed at by the locals for his naïve ways and American Rancher-style outfits. He dreams of moving to Ohio in the States, or even just to nearby Dublin, to escape his rural desolation.

Billy’s a sweet and likeable man, even though he prefers to be an outlaw like in the Westerns he watches. His parents died when he was a child so he lives alone with his alcoholic grandfather (Shane Connaughton). He spends his days working on the farm, doing odd jobs for his neighbours and going fishing, and his nights pretending to host his own radio show. Occasionally, he wanders to the pub and sits on the periphery of the groups that gather there, however, he’s surrounded by the bullies and losers he went to school with.

On a rare night out, Billy gains the courage to go to a party and ends up on an all-nighter with local troublemaker Ciaran (Charlie McGuinness) and his oblivious girlfriend Laura (Sonya O’Donoghue), which sets off a tragic chain of events.

Despite its limited budget, crowdfunded mainly by the residents in the towns where it was shot, No Party For Billy Burns is a solid and engaging film. Its mood is optimistic, even with Billy’s unfortunate circumstances. The ending, however, is quite disjointed and awkward. McGahern is captivating as the introverted Billy and the locals who appear in the film add an authentic Irish flair, although sometimes it can be hard to understand their thick accents. Some of the locations in town are charming and the landscape scenery is beautiful.

No Party For Billy Burns is an enjoyable film, although it does take a somewhat strange turn towards the end. Overall, it’s a likeable story with intriguing characters, and gives a fascinating insight into what it’s like to live in a tiny Irish town.

No Party for Billy Burns
Part of the Irish Film Festival 2019
irishfilmfestival.com.au