Tense new Irish movie puts twist on Fatal Attraction and Single White Female-type stories

The movie is the feature directorial debut of one of the stars of Bad Sisters.

Bad Sisters star Eva Birthistle has made her feature film debut as a writer-director with the excellent new drama thriller Kathleen is Here, which is out in cinemas this week.

The movie tells the story of Kathleen (Hazel Doupe, star of upcoming Disney+ series Say Nothing), an 18-year-old fresh out of foster care who returns to her hometown to take ownership of her deceased mother's house.

Unsatisfied with her life and lonely, she forms a connection with her next door neighbour Dee (Clare Dunne, Kin), a wife and mother also grieving the loss of a loved one.

While their relationship at first seems beneficial for both of them, it isn't long before one of them forms an unhealthy attachment with the other.

Also co-starring Peter Coonan (King Frankie), Kathleen is Here begins almost as a social realist drama showcasing the struggles young people can have coming out of care.

As the film goes though, it gradually evolves into an extremely tense thriller - which is all the more effective because you believe in the people at the centre of the story.

Its third act is so nail-biting in fact, that the movie has even earned comparisons to classic '80s and '90s character-focused thrillers like Fatal Attraction, Single White Female and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle.

JOE had the pleasure of speaking to both Birthistle and Doupe ahead of the film's release and during our conversation, we brought up those comparisons.

In particular, we asked the writer-director if she was looking to those types of films as an inspiration.

In response, Birthistle said:

"Well, I think I was thinking of them. But I was thinking of them more so in how I didn't want to portray Kathleen because I didn't want to demonise her. I didn't want to make her into a villain.
"But you're right in that, it starts off as a drama very purposely for that reason - that I wanted to make sure that the audience understood why she made the decisions that she did. Even if they didn't agree with what she was doing, they could sympathise with her and they could see her making mistakes as she went along.
"The research that we did and the people we were talking to and listening to - the very true stories of people's experiences of coming out of care and stuff - it was really important that we weren't standing back in judgement. So hopefully we've achieved that as well.
"But I did also purposely up the ante and heightened it a little bit. Because I felt the stories lent themselves for the film to go in that direction, whilst hopefully still remaining truthful to their - 'their', I mean the people who've been through an actual experience like this, to their journeys and plights. So, it's just trying to strike that balance really."

Given how tense Kathleen is Here's last act is, we also asked Birthisle and Doupe if they have noticed audiences having visceral reactions to the film.

In response, Birthistle said: "Yeah, we have really. We had a screening, the UK premiere was a part of Raindance Film Festival, so that was when it had its first big audience. There were a lot of tears.

"And the same at Galway. It was a very audible audience in Galway by all accounts... People being very moved by it, wanting to talk about it, being visibly upset by it.

"I didn't preempt any of that. You just hope that people like it... But you don't know what their actual reactions are going to be.

"So, it blew me away. I was really overwhelmed and I mean, delighted - not that you want people to be upset but you certainly want them to be moved and they seemed genuinely so."

Doupe also said: "Yeah, the very same. And there were some people who came up who wanted to tell stories... And other people who just couldn't really speak."

Birthistle added: "Yeah, genuinely affected by it. That's all you want really."

You can watch the pair's interview with JOE in full below where we also asked them more about Kathleen is Here, as well as Bad Sisters season 2 and Say Nothing.

Kathleen is Here lands in Irish cinemas on Friday, 18 October.

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