Sodium Party (2013)

Sodium Party follows Claire through a harrowing childhood to university where she meets Danny, a frequently intoxicated photographer who exposes her to real life through a cocktail of love ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael McCudden

Writer:

Michael McCudden

Stars:

Slaine Kelly, James Corscadden, Marian Rose

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Slaine Kelly	...	Claire
James Corscadden	...	Danny
Marian Rose	...	Vanessa (as Marian Carroll)
Melissa Nolan	...	Helen
Katie Byrne	...	Sarah
Bronagh Sheridan	...	Young Claire
Caoilfhionn Hanton	...	Hannah
Michael Liebmann	...	Charlie (as Michael Liebman)
Michael McCabe	...	Mr. Greer
Michael Watts	...	Glasses Guy
Roisin McTeggart Donovan	...	Kate (as Róisín Donovan)
Lyndsey Alyson Riddall	...	Niamh
Conor Donelan	...	Gig Guy
Gordon Mahon	...	Police Detective
John O'Connor	...	Drunken Partygoer

Storyline

Sodium Party follows Claire through a harrowing childhood to university where she meets Danny, a frequently intoxicated photographer who exposes her to real life through a cocktail of love and drugs. Their relationship is tested when ghosts of Claire's tumultuous past manifest through super 8 home movie footage causing her world to unravel.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 2013 (Ireland)

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Decade TV and Film,Weird Pretty Pictures,White Raven Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was written after the birth of director Michael McCudden's first child, with the intention of leaving something behind that showed his daughter a little of how he sees the world. The project's origins are in random super 8 home movies, whose content force a viewer to layer their own perception onto the images. Initially an experimental found footage film, it was decided the film should utilize the Irish scenery and marry it with a European narrative style.

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Connections

Featured in Horses for Moths: The Making of Sodium Party (2015)

User Reviews

What a load of rubbish.

As a child, Claire suffered from an overbearing mother and witnessed the suicide of her father, causing her to invent an imaginary friend to help her cope with the trauma. Now 26 years old, Claire (played by Slaine Kelly) is at college, but falls for her wild classmate Danny (James Corscadden), who introduces her to the world of alcohol and drugs. But is Danny real, or is Claire seriously mentally ill and living in a fantasy world?

I reckon she's a few Guinnesses short of a full round, but I can't say for sure… this jumbled mess of pretentiousness is nigh impossible to follow thanks to director Michael McCudden's overuse of countless contrived movie-making techniques. Non-linear narrative, choppy editing, wobbly camera-work, pointless out-of-focus shots, extreme close-ups—just a few of the tricks that, when combined, are guaranteed to grind my gears.

Four years after its release and there's still only one IMDb review for Sodium Party (other than mine); I reckon that's because only one other person has made it though to the bitter end of this dreadful pile of unmitigated garbage. In the name of fairness, I always watch to the end before reviewing, no matter how tough the going gets, but this one was a real test of my resolve.