by Annette Basile
Worth: $13.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Owen Colgan, Brenock O’Connor, Tara Lynne O’Neill
Intro:
… does become considerably more engaging in its third act and, ultimately, has more resonance than expected.
Hardly any customers come into Elvis and Dermot’s shop, Bone Yard Records, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. They’re behind in the rent and when their ruthless landlady, Sadie, threatens them with eviction, they look for a way to save the store. When they happen upon some valuable vinyl being sold for a fraction of what it’s worth in Cork, in the south of the Emerald Isle, they see a way to not only save Bone Yard Records, but to buy the pony that Elvis has unrealistically promised his young daughter.
Before long, Elvis and Dermot are heading south in an old Vauxhall for what will become a fairly formulaic road movie. Meanwhile, Sadie is making plans to demolish and sell the shop to a hotel developer…
Elvis (Owen Colgan) and Dermot (Brenock O’Connor) are likeable and deliver some engaging banter, even if some of the wit is buried underneath the brogue. Their discussion about the Beatles really being an Irish band (three-quarters of the Fab Four have Irish roots) is hilarious, and their back and forths are at the core of this film’s limited appeal. There’s lush Irish landscape along the way and while there’s certainly something to enjoy here, there are aspects of The Spin that let it down.
As Sadie, Tara Lynne O’Neill is grating, her character sleazy and the performance is less than convincing. Sadie could have been the villain you love to hate, but she’s just annoying. And for a film about a record shop, the soundtrack – like the movie itself – lacks energy. This ain’t High Fidelity.
The obligatory ‘eccentric characters’ they meet along the way are contrived, as are the obstacles that Elvis and Dermot face along the way. A scene where a nun, a stripper and farmer-type with a taxidermist’s fox sit in the back of the Vauxhall should have been funny, but it leaves you cold.
The film does become considerably more engaging in its third act and, ultimately, has more resonance than expected. There’s something beautifully good-hearted about The Spin, with its themes of friendship and kindness. Stick around for the end credits for a little bit more of the tale – and an extra dash of the feel-good factor that made this journey almost worth it.
