Reigning British diva Vanessa Redgrave and a top roster of fellow actors cut loose in this comedy-drama set in an old folks home nestled in a rustic region of Northern Ireland. Adapted from a Maeve Binchy short story, The Hardcore, it is almost Christmas, when most of the codgers and curmudgeons lodging there are being picked up by relatives for the holidays.  Kate (Orla Brady), the dour widow who runs the place, is taking a break with her own mom for a couple of weeks, so she leaves five remaining residents in the hands of her younger sister, Ellie (Hayley Atwell). Freewheeling Ellie is a troublemaking sparkplug who shakes the resigned quintet out of the doldrums, inspiring them to do whatever they darn well please, whether that involves disobeying doctor's orders, playing poker, drinking booze, smoking pot or belting out the classic show tune (“I Like New York in June . . .how about you?”) cribbed in the title.  Ellie challenges the irritable former showgirl Georgia (Redgrave), terminally-ill Alice (Joan O’Hara), grumpy old Donald (Joss Ackland), and repressed spinster sisters, Heather and Hazel, to live what’s left of their lives to the fullest, even if that behavior costs the establishment its elder care license. (Director Anthony Byrne's fifth feature).

About the Director