The Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield, Dublin entertains all of your senses. While it has four screens, 600 seats and a plethora of Irish, independent, foreign-language, arthouse and classical films the theater in and of itself provides an entertaining experience simply not seen in modern movie theaters.

The theater is tucked away in a commercial courtyard with only a mirrored sign and glimmering, clean, glass doors to identify it. As patrons walk into the cinema they are instantly greeted with the smell of fresh coffee and espresso wafting down the hall from the full-sized café located just beyond the ticketing booth. That is just what the front room is: a long hallway with a simple ticket desk run by a young, well-groomed man in a black shirt. Just past the ticket booth the hallway opens into a full café offering what a coffee house on the corner would. People are sitting at tables enjoying their espressos as if they had all the time in the world.

Unlike many other movie theaters The Lighthouse Cinema isn’t spread across a large stretch of land with all of the theaters on the same floor. Instead, moviegoers must descend several flights of stairs to get to their theater. The maze of stairs and hallways is surprising easy to navigate despite the sharp turns and many levels. Some of these extra stairs aren’t only stairs, but seating in themselves. Cushions are placed on half of the stairs so a screen can be lowered from the ceiling creating an impromptu theater in the center of the building.

The uniqueness of the cinema doesn’t end there; The lower levels of the complex are dimly-lit with backlit walls and mild, warm red and orange hues emitting from columns and select walls. The lighting gives the feeling that you’re already in your own film. Strategic lighting accentuates the sharp lines of the architecture and attempts to teleport you into the world of a film. Accompanying these beautiful colors is a plethora of seating outside of theaters for moviegoers. Beanbags, couches, coffee tables and chairs are placed in every corner of the complex. This may seem a bit strange until you encounter a small bar on the first level. The bar almost blends into the background of oranges and reds with its lighting and black countertops. While the drink selection may be overpriced and a bit limited, it fits perfectly in with the rest of the cinema.

The actual theaters are just as clean cut, warm and welcoming as the rest of The Lighthouse Cinema. Unlike other theaters, the floors are clean and not sticky with candy and soda. Not only are the seats comfortable, they are placed sensibly in the theater. Instead of cramming as many seats as possible in the theater, the floor in front of the screen is empty, allowing the film to be projected onto a large screen that is refreshingly comfortable to watch. The entire theater is a refreshing take on “going to the movies.”

Only in Ireland would there be films considered to be comedies that have people accidentally dying in brutal ways in them. In fact, it is quite jarring to watch as an American who has just woken up in Ireland; especially while still slightly in that ‘Have I woken up back in the United States?’ mindset. But this is the entire plot to A Film With Me In It (2008) by Ian Fitzgibbon. It is the absurd story of the very unlikely, accidental deaths of two roommates, their landlord, a policewoman and their dog. The majority of the film consists of the remaining roommate and his friend frantically trying to deal with this unfortunate situation. The plot tries very hard to draw in the audience with one bad decision after another, but fails to entice the viewer into becoming invested in the fates of the characters.

While the series of unfortunate events that befall the characters, the film within a film ending, and the black comedic aspect of the deaths all have potential, each aspect fights with the others for the spotlight. None of the elements get the chance to really resonate with the audience. The film within a film ending feels as though it was almost tacked on at the end in an effort to pull the work together. While sudden and comedic, the deaths never match the absurdity of the rest of the film. The many elements of the film are entertaining and seem like good ideas, but none of them are followed through with enough substance to reach their full potential. Despite the characters being ripe with Irish charm, they are unable to fully charm the viewer into their story and pull together the entirety of the film.

The Irish charisma of the film brings out a unique aspect of Irish cinema: the different sense of humor and otherwise morbid happenings that are not a rarity in Irish film. Finding humor in these kinds of situations is a particular talent of Irish directors. No matter how many negative things happen the characters buckle down and move through it with a dark sense of humor. This black humor has become a staple of the Irish attitude. Even in lighthearted situations there is always something dark to be found underneath.

However, this film is able to communicate a certain easy-going outlook on daily situations that many Irish people have. They look at a situation with an ‘Oh this is your problem? Well, just do this – it’s simple,’ attitude. Upon first arriving in Dublin and talking with some locals, one can get the sense that they do not get flustered easily, especially through the eyes of an American. Even if, for example, 17 students fresh from the United States flood your store and buy out the entire stock of your cheapest phone. Despite generally having a negative outlook on a bad situation they are able to keep their head down and get through it with their very dark sense of humor.

Amos Hanna

During our studies in Dublin, Logan Clare and Amos Hanna are the students who will be covering the Film beat.