MY CULTURAL LIFE

LEANNE DEVLIN

BOOK KALA

I recently finished Colin Walsh’s novel which is a sort of murder mystery following a group of friends from adolescence to adulthood. It’s set on the Irish coast and this really comes through in the language and the imagery. I enjoy anything with a strong sense of place.

It’s also a real page-turner. I’m now in the middle of Matthew McConaughey’s memoir Greenlights. It’s fascinating to learn how he came to be the household name that he is.

FILM POOR THINGS

My favourite film I’ve seen so far this year is hands down Poor Things. I was hooked from the opening scene. Emma Stone is simply phenomenal. The whole concept of the movie was fascinating and the questions of morality that comes with it. I’m also rewatching Schitt’s Creek, one of my favourite TV shows ever. Alexis Rose would be my dream role.

PODCAST WHAT’S THE CRIME?

I’m gutted that I’ve finished all the current episodes of my favourite podcast. What’s the Crime? is by two sisters from my hometown [Buncrana], Gráinne and Gemma Gallanagh. One will research the crime and tell the story to the other so they’re learning about it in real time as we are. The crimes are from all over the world but the ones set in Ireland hit a bit harder. Another great one is Meet the Parents by comedians Diona Doherty and Sean Hegarty. They’re a married couple and they talk about their life, their parents, their

IVF journey and so much more. I don’t have kids but it’s such an interesting listen and they talk about a huge a range of topics with such open minds. Also, they’re really funny.

THEATRE BESTSELLER CAFE

I’m hoping to catch as much theatre as I can while I’m in Dublin, especially as my shows are in the afternoon and I’ll have plenty of free evenings.

I’ll definitely be stopping by Bestseller on Dawson Street; they always put on a good show and the intimacy of the small venue is really special.

I suspect, the film itself wouldn’t fit together.”

Is the film fundamentally about a post-clerical Ireland?

I remember thinking after doing Calvary: ‘OK, who takes the place of this shaman in the village then?’ Think of what a good priest could achieve with regard to going down to quasi-social services, quasi-psychologist, quasi-therapist, quasi-confessors – an actual confessor obviously. So, you’re thinking of all the boils that are possible to be lanced, and need to be lanced, within communities and who’s taking up the slack there. I always remember going past secondary schools and somebody said: ‘OK, when the clerics go, how many cars are parked outside the school after hours? How much extracurricular activities are being taken up by the laymen? How many people are bringing lads out to games and going to stuff?’

Is there not enough of that community action here? Actually, we’re lucky in this country because quite a lot of people do. But how many people take up the slack of what a good priest could achieve, you know? And then you’re kind of saying, on the other hand, power corrupts. That’s basically what it comes down to. All that stuff is interesting. Cillian [Murphy] said something very, very interesting over the last while: that art is not there to answer the questions but to ask them.

What was your thought process during the making of the film?

I felt that when I was doing Calvary that I was conscious of the weight of it. When we were fitting the costume, when it went on, it felt like an extraordinary burden because it was the idea of trying to be fair to what was good about this man and then being aware of everything that was happening to him.

What would your father have thought of Fr James?

That would be interesting. I’m not sure what my father would have thought. I remember my father met a priest at some stage. The priest said to him: ‘What’s your name?’ My father said ‘Frank Gleeson.’ And the priest said to him, ‘I’ll forget that now.’ And my father thought it was the best thing ever. It would be interesting to see what he and people of his generation thought [of the film].

And what about how it was perceived overall?

A friend of my wife said she was coming out of the cinema after Calvary and two older women were on the way out. They said: ‘Well, we got more than we bargained for there.’ That comment was brilliant. That’s exactly it, because they weren’t alienated by anything and they had to go into places that were fairly challenging. The truth of it came, you would hope, to be looked at and to be pored over. You are trying all the time to do things with integrity that means it reaches as many people as possible.

Is there a character you have played that is closest to your personality?

I try to access part of me. So little bits and little bits.

What would your wife of 42 years say?

My wife wouldn’t tell you!

How close would Fr James be to your personality?

I honestly don’t know. I tried to access as much truth within myself in terms of my relationship with Catholicism.

And what is that relationship? I’m not telling you. It’s much more interesting when you don’t know. And I never told anybody about whether I do or I don’t [believe in God] when I was doing Calvary because I think it colours the way you look at the movie. It doesn’t matter. That the character believes – that’s all that matters.

Cillian [Murphy] said something interesting: that art is not there to answer the questions but to ask them