Directed by Philip Clyde-Smith and written by Eliza Power, an elderly Irish woman finds herself literally attached to her deceased husband. Their bond leads to increasingly grotesque events. Starring: Frances Barber, Murray McArthur, Shane Casey, Frank Bourke, Lisa O’Connor, Katherine Moran and Jimmy Tarbuck.
Marriage is a topic that’s been depicted for the big and small screens in countless ways, and yet Philip Clyde-Smith and Eliza Power definitely found a new one. Taking the idea of a difficult marriage and turning it into a body-horror-comedy combo was a unique and genuinely brilliant idea. The way that Power translates all the themes into a hilarious, ridiculous, bloody sequence of events is incredible. It works on both levels, you could dig into the metaphors and get more out of this, but you can also just enjoy what A Hand to Hold is giving you on the surface. That’s because the writing is superb, sarcastic and satirical.
That script is then brought to life by a terrific bunch of actors. Each one of them delivers pitch perfect comedic timing to do ultimate justice to Power’s writing. Frances Barber is unsurprisingly wonderful, a classic matriarch, and the way she delivers her lines have such great apathy and bite to them. Then you’ve got Lisa O’Connor as her daughter who provides this excellent ‘do you even know what you’re doing?’ attitude, not phased or shocked by what’s going on, instead irked by the lack of helpfulness. Those two styles combined with Frank Bourke’s hapless doctor, Shane Casey’s improvised handyman of limbs and Murray McArthur’s angry, petty husband create that strong Irish comedy feel which is incredibly satisfying to watch.
The filmmakers then complement those factors by bringing back the style of the 1970s. Giving A Hand to Hold a humble everyday aesthetic, the classic simple life which they can then brilliantly contrast with the gory, violent nature of the plot. It means that they can add a casual tone to atmosphere, it’s not about shock value with a part-formed body, it’s the insanity of how calmly they approach the situation. Putting such a grand effort into the makeup and effects work, and then placing it within this mundane setting works so beautifully. The only choice which stands out as clashing with the rest is the use of random landscape shots to transition from scene to scene. It takes the audience out of the moment and hinders the flow of the film.
A Hand to Hold is a brilliantly written, beautifully timed, well shot, casually gruesome, fantastic piece of horror-comedy. The cast are a wonderful ragtag bunch and every one of them perfectly understands the delivery and tone, so that the comedy can just keep building on itself. Having that intensely messed up situation matched with their incredibly casual tone is utterly enjoyable to watch. A lot of excellent work went into creating this ever-growing body and it’s nostalgically reminiscent of a lot of 1980s horror cinema. It has a twistedly wholesome feel, extremely well crafted and it’s a good bloody bit of fun.
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