Top 5 Domhnall Gleeson Roles

As if I needed an excuse to gush about my favourite people in the movie world, today is Domhnall Gleeson’s birthday! Pronounced ‘Doh-nuhl’ (in my accent anyway) which took me far too long to work out. I’d been calling him ‘Dom-un-all’ for ages, and then had a moment of crisis in our review of The Revenant. You can always trust the internet to help you, though!

He was only on my radar because of his ties to the Harry Potter series until last year, when he managed to land himself a role in 4 Oscar-Nominated movies in just 2015. What a star! I can’t wait to see more from him in the coming years, I find it fascinating how well he plays a hopeless romantic and a sneering douchebag, and comes across perfect in each!

Whilst I wait though, I thought I’d track down and watch the rest of his filmography like a crazy person make a little list of my top 5 favourite roles of his. Bill Weasley gets an honourable mention here, only because he’s my least favourite Weasley brother, and damnnnn 2015 was a brilliant year!

How amazing was Brooklyn? I only watched it because of its nominations, a romance movie like this is not something I’d normally enjoy, but I fell in love with it instantly. I think mainly due to the characters, who we just so loveable. Obviously I know how perfect Eilis and Tony were for each other, but when Eilis met Jim back in her hometown, he was so sweet and such a gentleman that a big part of me definitely wouldn’t have been mad if they ended up together.

I actually had no idea Domhnall Gleeson played General Hux until after I’d watched the movie for the first time, he’s just such a different character! Gone is gentle, kindhearted boy, he’s replaced with a slimy, sneering General thrust into an important military position at far too young of an age. We don’t actually get to see much of Hux in The Force Awakens, but I’m hoping for some more scenes of his with Kylo Ren in Episode VIII, as the two battle for Supreme Leader Snoke’s approval.

You can’t call him evil, but Jon is a bit of an annoying douchebag in Frank. I can forgive that though, because he shares my undying love for ham and cheese toasties, and shouts my favourite bad word at the top of his voice in the middle of a hot tub. Jon’s character transition from the bumbling guy in the background to the power behind the whole band (I can’t remember what it’s called now...it was so weird) is interesting to watch, as the whole thing comes round in a full circle. 

Ugh, I love this movie so much. It’s another romance I didn’t expect to love so much, but this one has much more comedy than Brooklyn. It also has my favourite wedding scene ever in it. If it’s going to rain on my wedding day this month, let it be like this! I don’t do anything by halves. It’s such a delight watching Tim grow as this goofy guy looking for love, into the fully fledged, doting husband he becomes. Swoon!

There’s definitely a running theme here, because I was practically forced to watch Ex Machina last year. The trailer didn’t sell it to me at all, but it became one of my favourites of the entire year. There’s something about Caleb’s character that just oozes nerves, excitement and terror at the same time. The movie itself takes a turn into dark territory and Caleb is forced right into the centre of it all. 

What do you think? Are there any roles you would have included in your top 5 that aren't listed here? I'd love to know if there's a great movie I haven't seen yet.

Review: Brooklyn (2015)

The countdown to the Oscars is on and so is the annual tradition (not technically a tradition yet as its only the second year for me) of racing to watch all of the big hitters before the big day.  Brooklyn was one I was looking forward to anyway so it was a good one to kick off with.

Year two for me, too! I think the tradition for me is more of an 'UGH I don't even want to watch half of these movies Jenna why are you making me'!

Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) is young girl growing up in Enniscorthy, Ireland who feels like her life is going no where.  Her sister, Rose (Fiona Glascott) sorts her a job and place to live in Brooklyn, New York.  After suffering with homesickness she finally starts to feel at home and in love when tragedy brings her back to Ireland.  The prospect of another life and love makes Eilis question where her heart lies.

I've only seen Saoirse Ronan in a handful of movies and I only really liked her in The Grand Budapest Hotel (I knew she looked familiar!) so I was a little bit concerned that I might not like her in the lead but really wanted to watch the film.  I couldn't have been more wrong, she was incredible and absolutely stole the show, I don't think this would have been the same with any other actress.   Throw in Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Domnhall Gleeson (Is it me or is he in absolutely everything at the minute?! He is, and I'm LOVING it) and what's not to love?

Safe to say I couldn't convince the fiance to watch this one with me ("but it has General Hux in, it's practically Star Wars!") so I watched this alone. I'm not one for romance movies without a hefty dollop of comedy thrown in, but I was weirdly kind of hooked within the first 10 minutes.

I was completely taken with the film, I didn't move once, no fidgets, no toilet visits, not even a sip of drink - I had chronic dry mouth by the time it was over but it was worth it.  For me it was like a grown up version of the teen romances films I loved as a teenager, I grinned when she fell for loveable Tony (Emory Cohen) and wanted to shout at her when she considered a different life with Jim (Domhnall Gleeson). Tony's little brother was one of the cutest movie kids ever! Just no filter on what comes out his mouth. Love it.

I felt like the worst person in the world for wanting Eilis to stay with Jim. He was such a sweetheart though! Domhnall Gleeson just owned 2015. Like, this time last year he was just a Weasley brother to me, and not even one of my favourites, and now he's just BAM. In every movie I've watched last year. Or at least it felt that way.

It was really clever how they made subtle changes to Eilis's wardrobe, hair and make up throughout the film to show how she grows and changes as a person.  When she heads back to Ireland, you can see the distinct differences between the way she dresses and holds herself and the way her friends do, and how she used to be.  It's just another reminder of how good Ronan is in this role.

I thought that, too! She starts off so quiet and sheepish at the start of the movie, and the changes in her are so subtle. It wasn't until the final scene that you can really compare just how much she's grown.

Ronan is utterly engaging throughout, no need to be a hopeless romantic you'll love it anyway.