‘A Greyhound Of A Girl’: Galway Review

Dir: Enzo d’Alo. Luxembourg/Italy/Ireland/UK/Latvia/Estonia/Germany. 2023. 89mins

The latest European co-production from Italian animator Enzo d’Alo (How The Toys Saved Christmas, 2012’s Pinocchio) is a simple, heartfelt adaptation of the 2011 Roddy Doyle novel. A charming, family-friendly production finds some touching life lessons in the tale of a young girl facing the impending death of her beloved grandmother. Attractive visuals and noble sentiments combine in this traditional film, which offers a thoughtful alternative to the more frantic, helter-skelter animated features in the marketplace.

 Attractive visuals and noble sentiments combine in a traditional film

Mary (voiced by Mia O’Connor) is a wilful, irrepressible 11 year-old, desperate to secure a place at a prestigious summer cookery school. Her greatest supporter is her loving grandmother Emer (Rosaleen Linehan) who has a firm dislike of “modern rubbish” and believes all good meals should be cooked from scratch. Cooking a special recipe of Emer’s childhood staple Colcannon transports her to her youth; there are echoes of Ratatouille in this element of the story. This bond between Mary and Emer feels all the more special as granny falls ill and is taken to hopsital, and connections between the generations and the importance of understanding family histories emerge as key narrative elements.

A Greyhound Of A Girl has the look of a children’s bedtime storybook bursting with vivid colours and pleasing details. Woods are emerald green and filled with gnarly trees and shady spots. Granny was raised in Wexford, and the rural Ireland on display here is one of verdant pastures, flocks of sheep insisting they have right of way on twisty country roads and tractor-driving farmers offering a cheery wave as they pass by. A small town high street is marked by a charity shop, cafes and a book store. Mary’s family kitchen has mustard chairs, tomato red tables and cereal bowls in shades of yellow, green and mauve. The result is visually appealing, even if overly keen to embrace some ‘Emerald Isle’ cliches.

Granny’s ill-health coincides with the news that Mary’s best friend is leaving for London. Facing loss and separation, Mary is befriended by Tansey (Charlene McKenna), the wise, comforting ghost of her great grandmother. She provides Mary with tales of the family’s distant past – including an explanation for the film’s title – and asks her to pass a special message to her grandmother.

A Greyhound Of A Girl is set amidst a bustling family where the menfolk are largely sidelined. Mary’s father Paddy (Brendan Gleeson) is the easygoing, peace-maker of the clan, while her two brothers are boisterous, hungry lads forever in search of a snack from the fridge. It is Mary’s stressed-out mother Scarlett (Sharon Horgan) who carries the burden of her mother’s illness and Mary’s sudden attachment to someone she assumes is an imaginary friend. All the trauma of the past and concerns about the future are resolved in a road trip involving four generations of women, one of whom just happens to be a ghost.

Director Enzo d’Alo effectively uses a number of animation styles to capture different aspects of the storytelling. Flashbacks to Emer’s childhood, drawn by Peter de Seve, have the appearance of preliminary, charcoal sketches, while Mary’s nightmares are depicted as dark, dense Hogarthian visions by Regina Pessoa. Bringing all the styles together creates a film of textures and contrasts. A well-chosen voice cast bring out the personalities in each of the characters, from O’Connor’s excitable, energetic Mary to the gaiety and vulnerability that Linehan brings to Emer. The big-hearted story generally hits the mark, although the collection of saccharine songs sprinkled liberally throughout adds little to the proceedings.