A Luxembourg-Ireland-The Netherland co-production, including Calach Films from Luxembourg and with the support of Film Fund Luxembourg.
Directed and written by Rebecca Daly (The Other Side of Sleep; Joyriders (short)) and starring Rachel Griffiths (), Michael McElhatton () and Barry Keoghan ().
Drama, 96 mins; 12+
Set in a suburb of Dublin, Margaret (Rachel Griffiths) works in a second-hand sop and enjoys swimming in the local pool. She lives by herself in a terraced house in a lonely existence without much interaction with others. As her stoy unfolds, the audience realises she is estranged from her husband Matt (Michael McElhatton). However, he contacts her when their sons, who lives with him, goes missing. She has had no contact with him and does not know how to react.
Meanwhile, she comes across Joe (Barry Keoghan), a young lad who has been beaten to almost unconsciousness, cleans him up and takes him back to her house and cares for him. He is from the area but appears to be homeless. Initially he appears to become almost a substitute son but then their relationship begins to evolve, fuelled both by grief and rage towards her ex-husband.
A relationship drama in a modern setting, Mammal lets the audience get inside the mind of Margaret who usually keeps to herself, but the slow tempo of the soundtrack lets it down. The swimming pool scenes are very well done, portraying her escape from daily routine, with the rough company Joe keeps adding an edge to the proceedings.
Mammal featured in the official competition at the recent Sundance Festival was was also part of the Rotterdam festival line-up. The film used many extras from Luxembourg and included shooting various scenes in well-known locations including the George & Dragon pub.
