Inside I'm Dancing
Tags: tragedy, inspiring, romantic, sentimental

Plot synopsis:
Michael Connolly is a 24-year-old with cerebral palsy who is a long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled run by the formidable Eileen. His life, mundane and schedule-driven by the institution's authorities, is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, suddenly moves in. Michael is stunned to discover that fast talking Rory, prone to lewd and/or overt jokes at unpredictable intervals, and who can move only his right hand, can understand his almost unintelligible speech. Rory's dynamic and rebellious nature soon sparks a flame in Michael, introducing him to the wider world outside of Carrigmore.
On a day out in Dublin led by Carrigmore collecting for "the needs of the disabled", Rory leads Michael astray, sneaking off to a local pub with their donation bucket, charming a group of girls at a corner table at which sits Siobhán; later they see Siobhán again while traversing a neighbouring nightclub, which they get into only by Michael citing Irish and EU Disability Discrimination Law text to the bouncer.
Rory has meanwhile repeatedly failed in his application for the Independent Living Allowance; he is always denied that on the grounds of irresponsibility and poor judgement, but told to reapply in six months. Inspired by his example Michael applies for the allowance himself; with the help of Rory as his interpreter Michael gets the allowance but they struggle to find an apartment that is both wheelchair accessible and affordable. Rory convinces Michael to visit his estranged father who, out of guilt, gives them the money and property they need to set up on their own.
They interview for a care-giver with little success, but later they meet Siobhán working in a local supermarket, and try to convince her to take on the job. Despite not having any professional experience she reluctantly accepts. Seeing that Michael and Siobhán are platonically friendly to each other, Rory becomes jealous – culminating in a joyride with local kids in a stolen car, crashing it, subsequently getting briefly detained by the police.
Siobhán invites Rory and Michael along to a costume party; but after Siobhán rejects Michaels advances she decides to bring in Peter, a qualified Personal Assistant to replace herself. Michael is distraught over Siobhán's departure from their lives, and considering suicide; Rory finds him on the edge of the James Joyce Bridge. Michael jokingly complains the edge is too high for him to throw himself off, and Rory talks him out of it, reminding him he has a future and to enjoy it.
Later, Michael finds Rory in his bed struggling to breathe, and calls for an ambulance. His disease having progressed, Rory is given only a few days to live. Michael visits Siobhán and with her help goes to the review board on behalf of Rory to argue his case, another chance having come up after six months. The board initially refuse, restating the same arguments, however Michael responds that "the right must exist independently of its exercising" and as a gesture the board approve Rory's independent living allowance in principle – but before they can get to the hospital to tell Rory the news, he has already died.
The film ends with Michael and Siobhan attending Rory's funeral. Michael hears in his mind Rory's words "Well, then, are we going out?" and we then see Michael heading out on his own after saying goodbye to Siobhan.

Review: He Steven Robertson deserves an award for his portrayal as Michael Connolly, who has cerebral palsy.Michael's love isn't returned by a girl and Rory helps him come to terms with it.
Michael (played by Steven Robertson) has cerebal palsy, and lives a quiet, and dull, life in Carrigmore Residential Home.
His affect upon the quiet and reserve Michael is spectacular, and the two soon leave the care home to set up lives in the outside world, where they recruit the help of Siobhan (Romola Garai) as a care assistant.This film is one of the gems of the year!
Much like last year's In America, the film goes from being extremely funny, to distressing, touching, upsetting, and truly moving without once seeming saccharine sweet.
Knowing exactly where to tug at the heartstrings, and where to simply let the story, and characters, do their thing, O'Donnell has crafted a wonderful film which tells us all to look past the surface, and see what lies within.The true strengths of the film come in the lead actors.
It has made me think a lot more about the problems that disabled people face in everyday life and how the stuff that I worry about is rather insignificant in comparison.I can't remember the last film I saw that took me through pretty much every emotion possible the way that this one did - I felt happiness, sadness, joy, anger, irritability, sorrow, optimism and many other emotions during the course of the film.
I could really feel for Rory and Michael and their optimism to make the best out of life should be such an inspiration to everyone.To summarise, you must go and see this film - it's fantastic and I can't recommend it highly enough..
But no-one, truly no-one, could ever compare their expectations with the amazingly emotive and powerful performance given by the two actors in this film.Michael (Steven Robertson) lives in a home for disabled people.
For a non disabled actor, you see Rory, though he can communicate properly, frustrated at the way he's completely dependant on other people, and has no real life of his own.
The set-up all but SCREAMS "Here's a message concerning what's TRULY important in life" but the execution was way into the "Let's see just what we can get away with, here."It helps to have two fantastic actors in the leads -- James McAvoy (as Rory) and Stephen Robertson (as Michael).
It has less to do with handicaps than with the development and growth of two unique and memorable characters.Damien O'Donnell's directing keeps the story moving briskly, but it's James McAvoy as the eponymous Rory O'Shea who steals the show with his bravura performance and riveting screen presence, even though he's only acting with his face and two fingers.
The story of these two physically challenged people and their carer is well put over, and you really start to grow to know and feel for the characters as the movie goes on, it was especially upsetting at the end.
"Rory O'Shea Was Here (Inside I'm Dancing)" is a marvelous lead showcase for the talented James McAvoy who up to now has been a cocky secondary character in movies such as "Wimbledon" and memorable television such as "State of Play." But there his bad boy brashness is supported by a whirlwind of movement and sensuality whereas here all he can use in portraying a spark plug with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is his voice and expressions.
His "Rory" takes hold of a condescending home for "special people" the way Jack Nicholson shook up the mental ward in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." He is a rebel with a cause -- freedom.Steven Robertson as the pal he dynamites out of perhaps too simple complacency is achingly convincing as a young man with cerebral palsy who gradually learns he has a potential to fulfill, emotionally and intellectually.The film is particularly good at creating very individual characters with specific family and class situations, as well as making good use of the Dublin environment.While there are some clichés along the way, as well as a few overly convenient plot points, the film with humor, liveliness and poignancy (and a cool soundtrack) sticks our face in large issues about the helping bureaucracy, the need to individuate independent living opportunities, with particular attention to age differences, and our attitudes about the physically disabled..
I work in a cinema and so have seen many films this year but there is something about Inside I'm Dancing that has completely captured my imagination and I left the cinema thinking about issues that i've never really thought about before and i realized what a good life I have.In a nutshell if you want a movie to make you laugh, cry, feel happiness, joy, anger and question your life then you have to see Inside i'm Dancing.I can't wait for the DVD and hope this becomes a classic because it deserves to be..
In Dublin, the crippled rebel Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy) moves to the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, affecting the lives of the residents.
Roy is able to understand the unintelligible speech of Michael Connolly (Steven Robertson), who was left in the shelter by his prominent father many years ago due to his cerebral palsy, and they become close friends.
Living together with Rory, Michael faces a new world, finding friendship, love and freedom and learning to survive by his own.
First of all I was convinced James McAvoy & Romola Garai were Irish so convincing were their accents; and by half way through the film I was utterly convinced Steven Robertson was a disabled actor and pretty sure James McAvoy was also!
It's a remarkable piece of work, that manages to tell a good story without twist upon twist, people leaping out of bath tubs, or superheros coming to save the day.There's a fair amount of grit and reality in there, not everything can ever go just right - not all gulfs can ever be spanned - and this film delightfully shows the lot.If you watch this film, and are not impressed.....
I went to the pre-screening of "Rory O'Shea Was Here." I like this movie better than I expected, because the excellent casts and the powerful performance.
Michael (Steven Robertson) suffers from Cerabal Palsy and Rory (James McAvoy) suffers from Muscular Dystrophy (please excuse any spelling mistakes!).
The other great part has to be Romola Garai, she was wonderful as the love interest, and i reckon we'll be seeing more of her on the big screen in the near future!The thing that makes this film work, is not only the synergies between the two leads, but the script...
that's all I'm gonna say because it really doesn't more.My mom works with people with disabilities and I've seen it really close and it's amazing how this movie portrays the two main characters.
Steven Robertson is one of the best actors I have ever seen - to be able to play someone with cerebral palsy so well Siobhan was an amazing actress as well, and I find it hard to find a fault with James McAvoy - If you want to see good acting - watch this film!
Both of the main characters actors within this picture have made this movie one that should not be missed.I never wrote a review before , but the acting in this picture had made me want to write about these two actors who I had not seen before this film.I had to check to see if the director had used real disabled people in this film.
The acting by the two leads is hard to believe; you would swear the two young men really DO suffer from Muscular Dystrophy (Rory) and Cerebral Palsy (Michael); quite simply, two of the FINEST performances I have EVER seen; these are two very believable characters as well, and you never have the feeling things have just been "tossed in" for dramatic purposes or to evoke sympathy.
A credit to all involved especially to Steven Robertson (Michael), James McAvoy (Rory) and the gorgeous Romola Garai (Siobhan).
Great acting by the two leading roles exemplifies this further, and you will not regret seeing this movie in any way.It's a heartwarming tale of two new friends exploring the ups and downs of everyday life seen from the seat of a wheelchair.
I found the film was great and getting to grips with the two main characters disability, this was represented in a great performance by both two Michael and Rory.
Rory is a feisty character, who doesn't let his condition (Muscular Dystrophy) get to him.They bond and apply for Independent living, and find a lovely flat and assistant and have all the fun that they could ever dream of.Don't go to see this film if you are after some "Entertainment".
Personally, I think James Mcavoy would only have taken the character of Rory O'Shea in a vain attempt to clutch an Oscar, and found comfort in his poor level of acting throughout the film preventing him from achieving so.
Overall, I would not recommend this film to anyone, and should you want a far more realistic, (and entertaining), story about cerebral palsy then I would advise you to watch Jim Sheridan's 'My Left Foot', which includes an Oscar-winning performance from Daniel Day-Lewis that completely outshines any of the acting in 'Inside I'm Dancing'..
I was hoping to go see the Jacket but it was sold out so I ended up buying a ticket for this, I am not disappointed.Rory O'Shea Was Here is a great story about to physically handicapped young men who are trying to live as normal a life as they possibly can.
Michael gives to Rory the knowledge that there is a deeper meaning to life and that it is a beautiful gift.This is the best film that I saw at sundance.
That blond young man (James McAvoy as Rory) that looked pretty much like a more handsome Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) was so great and charming and sweet (and enough of a prick to feel realistic enough) that I couldn't stop watching.
I didn't know James McAvoy at the time, but now and several movies later, I understand why I liked him so much.
It is an unusual work in that both the leading characters have severe disabilities: Rory (James McAvoy) has muscular dystrophy and Michael (Steven Robertson) has cerebral palsy which means that both are wheel-chair users and initially in a residential care home.
The film moves you, as well as finds humour in the most unusual places, and that's what makes the movie so enjoyable.Michael is sad, dull ans shy guy in a Home-for-Disabled who has cerebral palsy and can't talk comprehensibly.
Both their lives change for the best.Jsmes McAvoy and newcomer Steven Robertson are brilliant and funny in their portrayals of Rory and Michael respectively.
Michael(Robertson, doing an incredible job, not only emotionally powerful but entirely credible as far as the disability goes - in fact, they all are) lives a life full of rules, and with constant assistance.
When Rory(McAvoy, in my favorite performance of his), a spike-haired, pierced and generally irreverent(he's infinitely quotable, awesome and hilarious - lovable, in spite of his sometimes being a jerk) young man suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy moves into the same residential home, it turns out that he can understand Mike, and in spite of their vast differences, they form a friendship, leading them both into adventures they couldn't have had on their own.You believe that these guys are wheelchair-bound, which is important, since this is a hard, honest and respectfully humorous look at the problems faced by people in their situation and asking the question: do those in this condition need well-intentioned structure and care in a clinical setting, or do they need a shot at a real world life, the same as anyone else?
It tells the story about Michael Connely, a 24-year-old man with Cerebral palsy who lives at a Residential Home for the Disabled called Carrigmores nearby Dublin.
Michael and Rory are pleased with their new life, but their friendship is conflicted when they hire a young woman named Sioban to assist them in their new home.Subtly and engagingly directed by Irish filmmaker Damien O'Donnell, this humane and humorous tale, draws a profoundly moving portrayal of a bonding friendship between two disabled young men who tries to find a way out of an institution in order to gain a certain degree of independence.
This character-driven, dialog-driven and finely paced independent film which examines poignant themes, is impelled and reinforced by the heartfelt and impressive acting performances by Scottish actor James McAvoy, Scottish actor Steven Robertson in his debut feature film role and English actress Romola Garai.
As a piece of poignant and heartwarming filmmaking, this is near perfect, and it also gives the viewer a real picture of what it is to be disabled in the modern world: the frustrations and the problems, but also the joy, laughter and happiness.James McAvoy and Romola Garai have since gone on to bigger things, but the real star of this film is Steven Robertson, giving an outstandingly sympathetic portrayal of a man with cerebral palsy.
"Rory O'Shea Was Here" is a film about living life the way you want to not the way you have to.
Although, that's not easy for Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy) who has Muscular Dystrophy, it's especially not easy for Michael (Steven Robertson) who has Cerebral Palsy.
This was sad, real, funny, emotional, true to life, there was such an excellent sense of humour between Rory and Michael.
James McAvoy and Steven Robertson are incredible as the leads, Rory and Michael, who form an unlikely friendship in the home to which they are assigned.
Rory can understand Michael's speaking when no one else can.These are severely handicapped men, confined to wheelchairs and limited mobility.The story of their leaving the home and establishing an assisted independent living environment for themselves is the plot of the movie.Many, many subtle comedic bits, such as a road race with children.
This movie has all the qualities one could only hope to be put in a film.For those who haven't seen it, the "alternate" ending on the DVD will just tear at your heart.The actors in it truly convey their characters with their acting, and through their eyes.Although it is Irish, the accents are a bit strong, but easily discernible.This is truly a movie that brings all of your emotions to the surface.It throws much light on the challenges presented to those with disabilities, and how they are treated by society.Be sure and have a box of Kleenex within easy reach when viewing it.I rarely give a movie a "10 of 10" rating, but this one deserves an 11+.Why this movie didn't last in the theaters I will never know.
A funny, moving film about friendship, heartbreak, overcoming prejudice and limitations, and making one's way in life.It's an uplifting story.The performances by Steven Robertson, James McAvoy, Romola Garai, & Tom Hickey are first-rate.
yes, i was a little disappointed upon finding out that neither actor is disabled, and yes, i was a little disappointed that more of the movie wasn't filmed from the 'true' point of view of the disabled (can you imagine what it's like always being the tallest person in the room and then having to live the rest of your life with a view of nothing but other people's asses and crotches?
The acting is wonderful with Steven Robertson particularly impressive as Michael Connoly the more severely handicapped of the two, the less handicapped being played by James Mcavoy who throughout provides the humour and although Scottish makes a fine job of the Dublin accent.
I in no way want to detract from what was a wonderful film marked by some terrific acting, particularly from Steven Robertson who steals every scene as Michael.
A lack of risk taking makes this a pedestrian movie that disappointed me, although I didn't have particularly high hopes - you can tell from the title what you are getting.I could have forgiven this film much of this if it was performed by disabled actors - but there are no risks here..
The film ends on a sad note, that many viewers may have seen coming, but ultimately, we are left feeling that Michael has truly become independent and the future is his, as Rory pointed out to him towards the end of movie.You know, I can't say that I've seen a lot of "handicapped films" and I don't know if they could be considered a specific genre.
Also, despite the blunt emotional shock tactic of death being sprung upon us, the movie as a whole is far less sappy than anyone has a right to expect these type of films to be.Brenda Fricker can and has been performing variations of her role capably on autopilot for what seems like years; but Robertson and McAvoy share a special interaction that must be noted.
Steven Robertson and James McAvoy as Michael and Rory turn in performances which can only be called exquisite.
I'm just here to say that watching this movie is a touching, and often quite funny, film experience..
I have not felt so uplifted by a movie for a long time, despite the sad ending, and I feel this film should be required viewing for anyone living and/or working with disabled people..
The strong points are obvious: the acting of James McAvoy as Rory and Steven Robertson as Michael.
A perfect portrayal of the way the disabled mind works.When Michael falls for Siobhan, Rory helps him to get over her as she decides she must leave.
He hears an echo of Rory's voice and goes out into the world alone.A truly beautiful film that damn near broke my heart, with excellent acting from the two lead roles that perfectly portray the stance and emotions of disabled people.