Dance First (2023)

★ 6.9 1h 40m IMDb

Parisian bon vivant, World War II Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband and recluse…Samuel Beckett lived a life of many parts. Titled after Beckett’s famous ethos “Dance first, think later”, the film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon.

Dance First

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Cast

Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne as Samuel Beckett Age 75 · Dublin, Ireland Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award and nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the ...
Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen as James Joyce Age 57 · Dublin, Ireland Aidan Murphy (born 1967 or 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (/ˈɡɪlən/), is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles as Stuart Alan Jones in Queer as Folk (1999–2000); Tommy Carcetti in The Wire (2...
Sandrine Bonnaire
Sandrine Bonnaire as Suzanne Age 58 · Gannat, Allier, France Sandrine Bonnaire (born 31 May 1967) is a French actress, who has appeared in more than 40 films including Hollywood movies. Bonnaire was born in the town of Gannat, Allier, in the Auvergne region. S...
Fionn O'Shea
Fionn O'Shea as Young Samuel Age 29 · Dublin, Ireland Fionn O'Shea was born on January 2, 1997 in Dublin, Ireland. He is an actor, known for Handsome Devil (2016), Normal People (2020) and Dating Amber (2020)..
Maxine Peake
Maxine Peake as Barbara Age 51 · Westhoughton, Lancashire, England, UK Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English stage, radio, film and television actress, playwright, producer, director and political activist, who made her name as Twinkle in Victoria Wood's sitcom...
Bronagh Gallagher
Bronagh Gallagher as Nora Barnacle Age 53 · Derry City, Northern Ireland Bronagh Gallagher (born April 26, 1972) is an Irish singer and actress from Derry, Northern Ireland. During her teens she got involved, through school, in drama and music activities, and joined a loc...

Audience Reviews

CinemaSerf 6/10 Nov 04, 2023
Gabriel Byrne's rather uninspiring portrayal of Nobel laureate Samuel Beckett begins at the ceremony when he collects his cheque then climbs up through the theatre to a cave where he meets himself (in a polo neck) and together they try to decide what to do with the cash! This chat provides the scenario for a retrospective of the man's life. His childhood with a loving father and more distant mother; a life (now played by Fionn O'Shea) in Paris where he encounters the legendary James Joyce (Aiden Gillen) and his dance-loving daughter "Lucia" (Gráinne Good) before the Nazis arrive and he joins the French resistance and meets "Suzanne" (Sandrine Bonnaire) before becoming Byrne again for a denouement with her and BBC producer Barbara (Maxine Peake). Now clearly this was not an uneventful life, nor was this a dull man - but somehow the whole, lethargic, pace of this film rather grinds the joy from it. There are glimpses of the pithy wit of both Joyce and Beckett, and I did quite enjoy O'Shea's portrayal of the younger man but the rest is really an awkwardly introspective guilt trip as this man looks back on a life that is full of regret but very little positivity. Indeed, the whole film seems more focussed on offering us shallow glances of those who were important in his life rather than try to explain to us anything of his nature or just quite why we ought to care. Perhaps it is an authentic reflection of his life, but it's really quite a dull watch - even if the film itself does look great. Some lovely ragtime jazz though.

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