Goldfish Memory Movie Review:


This lively Dublin ensemble comedy tries to give us every conceivable permutation of relationships involving various sexes and sexualities (but not ages--they're all 20something). The result is telling and entertaining, if not terribly earthshaking. Even the central thesis seems a bit tired, that like goldfish we seem to have no long-term memory when it comes to relationships, so we keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

It's virtually impossible to lay out the labyrinthine connections or interrelationships in a brief plot synopsis, but if there has to be a centre to the film it's in the friendship between the lesbian TV presenter Angie (Montgomery) and the gay courier Red (McErlean). Their romantic entanglements could be an entire movie all their own, as each goes through at least two partners over the course of the film. Everyone in the film does, actually! The other focal point is the narrator Tom (Campion), a hangdog type prone to bouts of stalking when his relationships don't go as planned.

These are all energetic and realistic characters, and writer-director Gill captures their interaction with warm, colourful cinematography and sharp performances from her cast. There's far too much dialog though, especially as we try to keep everyone straight in our minds while they get together, break up and then reform in another combination. But there are wonderful moments along the way, as people find love in the most unexpected places (and never find it where they think they will). And there are clever sidelines on jealousy, monogamy, expectations and true love. Gill refuses to fall back on any stereotypes, but she also never makes the characters idiosyncratic enough to stand out on their own--it's all a little bland, really, even though it's not remotely boring. Gill continually cuts away from anything really edgy or painful--it's engaging but never moving. You find yourself wishing it could be expanded out into an ensemble TV series so we could see everything.

Rich Cline

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