Corona Cork Film Festival

Eve and Damien live a blissful life together. Together they run a cosy character-filled pub, where the highlight is the annual animal noise contest. This idyllic life is shattered when Eve, a nurse, gets involved in a freak car accident. Due to this she acquires a chronic stammer. While this injury is primarily psychological her inability to communicate causes her to become more withdrawn and puts a strain on her relationship. Troubled that the woman he fell in love with has been replaced by such an unconfident character Damien seeks comfort in the arms of Lea, the brewery rep.

Realising their relationship is in peril Eve confronts Damian. They scuffle. Damien falls and loses consciousness when he hits his head on a rock. When he comes to he finds he has become Eve’s prisoner.

Eve wants to prove that they can regain what they once had. But this is the least of her challenges: The animal noise competition takes place that week and it falls on her, despite the reservations of some sceptical contestants, to MC the event.

This is a superb achievement – the animal noise competition is a particular tour de force that will linger in the memory. Masset Depasse handles the psychological games between Eve and Damien with such consummate skill your sympathies constantly shift between them, keeping you guessing to the very end.