Truth About Kerry (2010) User Reviews

Saved by a good ending

[MattyGibbs · 6/10 · 17 June 2013]

I found this to be a badly acted thriller which was a shame as the premise was pretty good.

The Irish scenery was nice but the direction was pretty laboured and the dialogue was pretty clumsy and off-putting.

Just when I had written off this film as totally dreadful the surprisingly brutal ending saved the day. I just wasn't expecting it after 70 pretty uneventful minutes beforehand. Just as a poor ending can break a previously good film then a good ending can make a poor film that much better and for me that was the case with this effort.

There was a decent film in here somewhere trying to get out and with a a stronger cast and a higher budget this could have been a success but unfortunately this low budget effort isn't likely to appeal to many people i'm afraid.

This movie is so bad!

[annieinargyll · 1/10 · 16 February 2013]

The plot of this movie was promising. Woman visits Ireland. Woman dies in Ireland. Woman's friend goes to Ireland to find out the truth of her death. Was it murder or accident?

I am amazed that I found good reviews on this film.

The writing was incredibly amateur - the dialogue could have been more professionally written by a teenager. The acting was poor and amateurish. The film was loaded with the typical American version of Irish stereotypes. The Irish do not use the word 'grand' in every single sentence.

Don't waste your time watching this movie. The scenery was nice - filmed on the Ring of Kerry - but that was the only positive I could find.

disappointing

[Commercial_2012 · 3/10 · 25 December 2012]

I have to disagree with the reviewer who wrote, "cinematography is quite beautiful, showing off Waterville, Ireland" as it seems they never caught Ireland on a sunny day - or even a sunny moment. All the colors are bleak - not something that would do Ireland's rep any good. As to the acting - tho it's early in her career - I was annoyed at Ms. Katic's mannerisms - or perhaps how the director chose for her to do... but she was constantly flipping her hair into her face and then dramatically pulling it aside, her mouth (as well as the other actors) always hanging open (I mean - really annoying) and then her putting on her "research" side with hair pulled back, nerdy glasses and attentive, mouth open, hair flipping dramatic...wait...wait... wait for it... and ... nothing - just a scene with her doing some intensive, serious nothing. She barges in on people, brash, rude, and using really unnecessary vulgar language. The screenplay is weak, as is the dialogue. So, so much more should have been done with this play. Then - the ending - while predictable ... the only ones seemingly NOT in the know are the participants in the screenplay. Sad.

Hilariously bad, especially if you're Irish.

[alan_partridge_is_my_god · 1/10 · 23 September 2013]

Terrible dialogue that would barely be convincing on the page, appalling acting - especially from the bit parts that immediately lessen the impact of a group of amateurs doing their very best, and sloppy camera work that appears to have been filmed kit borrowed from a nearby wedding.

Worse still, this is overloaded with Irish stereotypes to the point of being laughably offensive.

Still, thank you Netflix for being such a reasonably priced service so I didn't have to pay top dollar for this garbage, though I do wonder how on earth it managed to find its way onto the service in the first place.

Avoid unless you're drunk and feel like watching a predictable "thriller" written by children and performed by card board boxes.

Poor quality

[msredsonia-180-821704 · 3/10 · 1 August 2013]

As I write this the film has a score of 6.7!! This is from 63 users who I can only assume must be the cast and crew as this film does not deliver on almost all levels. It was clearly low budget, which wouldn't be a problem if they had more of a choice of interesting sets other than an ugly uninspiring holiday home, an ugly charmless pub and bits of bleak looking scenery. The wild and mysterious Irish seascapes did little to give depth to the otherwise drab indoor scenes, it all ended up looking a bit grey and miserable. I did think the acting was quite good seeing as they had a stilted and unimaginative formulaic script to work with and there were hardly any characters. There was nothing particularly 'irish' about the story despite attempts to conjure up a vibe with a bit of pipe music. It really could have been a story in any remote village. In this village people are seemingly quite willing to answer all of the lead's questions except for randomly thrown in was one hostile resident - no explanation or relevance to that. In addition it was pretty obvious early on who the culprit was. Oh an there was no way that 'Kerry' was 29. Thats about it.

Nice scenery

[ccinthepines · 3/10 · 11 March 2018]

This is a film that could of been much more interesting by tapping in on the local flavor and delving into deeper levels of mystery. It has good bones but fairly one dimensional. Alot of the characters had a disconnect in relationship to each other and the story plot. You just get bits and pieces of some of them and feel nothing from their role in the movie. It makes them kind of pop into the movie then that's it..

The ending wasn't a surprise for me. Not that I suspected it, but because I was initially weary of that character.

I liked seeing the location, and that could of been more elaborated on also.. This is a movie that has good premise from the initial idea, but falls flat in execution.

Would like to see a remake of this, with more suspense and bite to it.

Truth About Kerry - a great little movie!

[jkonlinenite · 10/10 · 10 March 2012]

I love independent films, and I loved Stana Katic in "Quantum of Solace", so I was really excited to see "Truth About Kerry." Stana's portrayal of Emma, the best friend of the title character, Kerry, is wonderful. This film was shot earlier in her career, but it's not hard to see why the producers hired her. She's beautiful and likable on screen, and the role of Emma gives her an opportunity to demonstrate her range as an actress.

Additionally, Darren Keefe has a bright future ahead of him as an Irish leading man. His brooding and intense presence on screen is at once disarming and unsettling. He brings an authenticity to the role of Patrick, the troubled photographer with a salacious past.

The cinematography is quite beautiful, showing off Waterville, Ireland to the uninitiated. The footage of the Irish countryside is so lush and magical, I wouldn't be surprised if "Truth About Kerry" was used by Ireland's Chamber of Commerce to entice tourists and visitors to come and see the locations where the movie was shot.

Incidentally, this film won a Best Screenplay award for writer/director Katie Torpey at the LA Femme Film Festival.

Well-paced with a steady build toward the denouement, "Truth About Kerry" is edited together in an engaging 84 minute story. And there's a shocker at the end that I never saw coming, making the film even more intriguing.

It's worth watching twice!

Comically bad

[jordan2240 · 3/10 · 23 September 2017]

Watched this on Netflix because I usually enjoy films with an Ireland setting. The filmmakers covered all the stereotypical Irish bases with music and scenery, but it often had nothing to do with the film itself. Recently went to Ireland, and never heard anyone break out into spontaneous song in one of the pubs, but is seemed to happen regularly in this film. Of course, 'Oh Danny Boy,' a song that isn't even Irish, was covered. I think they also set a record for use of the words 'lads' and 'grand.'

The acting, particularly when anger is conveyed, is over the top bad, and each character gets angry at some point. The ending makes absolutely no sense, as no motive whatsoever is presented, and as another viewer noted below, the girl's death would have been easily classified as a homicide with any investigation whatsoever.

This is a b-level thriller at best, but only watch it for the comic relief.

Don't bother watching

[dianna729 · 1/10 · 6 January 2021]

When acting is bad you can tell it's acting. All of it seemed amateurish. From the script to the lighting to the camera work. The lead actresses were awful. The ending awful.

Pointless

[twelve-house-books · 1/10 · 26 September 2019]

One star for pointlessness. Where is the justice? Why doesn't the barkeep get his just deserts? To leave the story with this dick raping Kerry and then drowning her, with nothing more to the narrative than that, is pointless, fruitless, and, truthfully, nihilistic and anti-narrative. Stories are meant to bring the truth to light, to give the hearer a sense of righteousness and trust, belief and hope. Any story that does not give, but instead takes, is not really a story at all, but a lie. We have enough liars in the world. Anyone involved in this project sucks.

Don't waste your time watching this movie

[esteemdancers-1 · 8/10 · 3 January 2015]

This movie is entertaining and leads you to believe that the ending of the movie will bring an explanation to what happened to Kerry and give the viewer (me) closure. The acting is very good and the story moves at a great pace. You are sure that Emma will discover the truth about Kerry's death. The ending is so disappointing that I felt like I had my time, which I invested in watching this movie, ripped off. I felt anger that I let myself get sucked into this movie. You will hate the ending so don't bother watching this film. The ending is just not realistic. If the circumstances behind Kerry's death in the film happened in real life, forensic evidence - even with her having been in the water - would have provided a path to discovering who or what caused her death.

Plot engaging; lead actress lacking

[markkbranson · 8/10 · 25 September 2017]

I have to confess this film was recommended to me because of others I'd been watching, so I thought why not. I didn't know any of the actors and after watching the film, I am not particularly interested in seeing them again.

However, the director and co-writer have produced a wondrous story about loss and guilt that completely engaged me. The photography is solid in setting the somber tone and the plot moves at a solid pace into a surprise I did not anticipate at all. Be forewarned, the climax at the end can be disturbing, so approach it with caution.

I highly recommend the plot and the imagery, but don't expect a great deal of solid acting in this otherwise engaging independent film.

Surprised to see this film

[celtictony-56145 · 8/10 · 4 November 2017]

I downloaded this film because I live in Kerry, so the title caught my attention, I had no Idea that this film was set in Waterville, which is only seven miles from me. I didn't even know that a film had been made there until I started to watch it and saw the part where it showed the outside of a pub, which is actually "The Fishermans Bar". I was also surprised to find out that a lot of other locals hadn't seen it too. Overall I thought it was good, but maybe I'm being a little bit biased because some of the film extras were locals.

Great directing for an indie film.

[seanbshw · 10/10 · 6 May 2018]

I thought it was a well written movie with good directing and a well written screenplay for an indie film.

People Are So Hard To Please

[jaholl · 8/10 · 1 September 2013]

Lower budget films ARE indie films people so no. You won't get a lot of expense so why is everyone expecting so much in the way of "oh, it could have been so much better had it been a big budget film." No. It was wonderful the way it was.

I DO agree with the other reviewer that in no way whatsoever could Jessica Dean pass for 29 years old. She has a blog on Youtube which is fairly recent and is shown with very short hair and is clearly in her forties. Since the film was made in 2010-2011, she would have still been in her forties. Lol They needed a younger actress, but maybe it was a budget issue.