The Letters is a 2021 Irish drama film, written and directed by Robbie Walsh.
Based on the 2018 Cervical Check scandal
, the film follows three separate women dealing with cervical cancer as a result of the incorrect diagnoses.
- Sam (Mary Murray) - a single mother of four, who's eternally in debt and struggles to pay the bills.
- Cliona (Sarah Carrol) - a young autistic woman working for the HSE.
- Mary (Kathleen Warner Yates) - a middle-aged woman acting as a carer for her mother, who has Alzheimer's.
Not to be confused with the 2014 Mother Theresa biopic.
Tropes:
- Bathtub Scene: Cliona regularly unwinds by taking long baths. Of course in this case it's Fan Disservice, considering what she's dealing with every day.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The whole film is in black and white.
- Dream Ballet: The opening credits take place over a ballet performed by Donna Parish, shot in a very surreal and dreamlike way.
- Dublin Skanger: Jimmy the debt collector brings a shady young man in a tracksuit with him when trying to collect from Sam.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Both Mary and Cliona start wearing their hair up as their health worsens.
- Female Misogynist: The Minister's publicist agrees with him when he alludes to women being unable to control their emotions.
- Hate Sink: The unnamed Minister spends his meeting with Cliona making derogatory comments, Gaslighting her and trying to claim she's a Hysterical Woman. He also gets annoyed that she doesn't offer him tea and biscuits.
- The Hecate Sisters: Cliona is the Maiden - the youngest and most unsure of herself. Mary is the Matron - the motherly, witty carer. Sam is the Crone - acid-tongued and wise, but not unkind.
- Hollywood Autism: Averted. Cliona reveals she's autistic and, aside from being socially awkward and finding phone calls uncomfortable, she insists it helps her do her job very well.
- Intimate Hair Brushing: A sweet scene between Mary and Bridgette has the former tenderly combing her mother's hair.
- Ironic Nursery Rhyme: As shown in the trailer, a nursery rhyme plays right before things go From Bad to Worse.
- Mouthy Kid: Sam unfortunately has four boisterous daughters, which naturally does nothing for her sanity.
- Nice Guy: Anthony the carer, who shows up in both Mary and Sam's stories to lend a helping hand.
- No Sympathy: Jimmy has no sympathy whatsoever for the fact that Sam is dealing with her ex's debts while also trying to provide for four daughters and being on the dole.
- Nobody Poops: Averted, given it's dealing with cervical cancer; blood is frequently shown in the toilet to reflect the women's worsening conditions. Even before that, there's a scene where Mary helps her mother go to the toilet.
- Promotion to Parent: Mary is now caring for her mother, whose Alzheimer's makes her believe that Mary is the parent.
- Ripped from the Headlines: The characters themselves are fictional, but the film is inspired by a scandal that rocked Ireland in 2018. One of the real women has a
Voice-Only Cameo in the second act. - Scatterbrained Senior: Played for Drama. Bridgette believes her daughter is her mother, cannot remember the last fifteen years of her life, and assumes the two cleaners are nuns from the Magdalene laundries.
- Slice of Life: Although the film deals with a real life scandal, emphasis is more on the protagonists' day to day lives and how they cope.
-
Spiritual Successor: Could be seen as one to The Magdalene Sisters; both deal with how women have been affected by the Irish government, the Catholic Church in the former, the health service here. The former was a period piece, the latter is set in the modern day. Bridgette could even be seen as a successor to Crispina - she had a baby that was taken off her and suffers from mental illness. Mary Murray, who plays Sam, had previously played Una in The Magdalene Sisters. - Splash of Colour: Cliona at one point has an Imagine Spot where she meets Michael, the two in formal wear, and it's done in striking colour.
- Those Two Guys: Orla and Deborah, the two cleaners who always appear together at Mary's house.
- The Topic of Cancer: The film revolves around three women suffering from cervical cancer.
