Irish star gets long overdue showcase in powerful new drama you can watch this week

Stephen Porzio

This tense movie stars one of the leads of Love/Hate.

Best known for his iconic turn as psychotic gangster Fran Cooney in Love/Hate, Irish actor Peter Coonan has established himself as a reliably electric, formidable presence on screen.

That said, it’s been awhile since he has been front and centre in a project – something he seems to be rectifying as he has major roles in not one but two new Irish movies this month.

One is the brilliant psychological drama thriller Kathleen is Here, which is out in cinemas next week on 18 October and sees him star opposite Clare Dunne and Hazel Doupe.

The other is also a drama with thriller elements called King Frankie, which will be released in theatres this week and sees Coonan in the lead role.

In the latter film, the actor plays Frank ‘King’ Burke, a taxi driver living a quiet, modest life in a Dublin suburb.

But Frankie’s life wasn’t always like this. At the height of the Celtic Tiger, he was a hot-shot high-roller.

On the day of his father’s funeral (his dad played by Owen Roe), Frankie is confronted by a figure (Rob Malone) from his past – one that causes him to think back to the day where everything changed, where he lost it all.

The movie cuts between the funeral in the present day and Frankie’s young daughter’s birthday party held at a five-star hotel in 2009 where everything fell apart for the self-professed King.

Written and directed by Dermot Malone in his feature debut, the drama builds impressive dread, particularly during its scenes set in the past. The audience knows from the outset things went south on the day of the birthday party, but we don’t exactly know how south (it turns out, very!).

During these segments, Malone stacks the obstacles against his lead character. Frankie’s up to his ears in debt but is overspending to keep the illusion all is well. There is talk of dodgy contracts. There is a politely pushy hotel manager (a scene-stealing Conor MacNeill) demanding his deserved payment for the birthday party, as well as a quick money making scheme to get this manager off of our antihero’s back.

We know these subplots spell doom for Frankie and his family but what will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back? Without spoiling, we’ll just say that this question is answered through one of the most haunting shots of the year – an image serving as a striking metaphor for the Celtic Tiger’s bubble burst.

There is an element of predictability to King Frankie’s uniquely Irish tale of greed and redemption – the film opening with a dramatic reading of William Blake’s poem ‘The Tyger’ should signify what it’s about thematically and where it’s going.

Plus, subplots regarding Frankie’s wife (Olivia Caffrey) and one of his employees (rapper Rejjie Snow) feel a tad underdeveloped.

Yet, the movie’s got atmosphere, handsome visuals – the scenes at the lavish hotel and at Dollymount Strand look beautiful on the big screen – and a brilliant central turn from Coonan.

The actor is equally gripping as a fast-talking wheeling dealer in 2009 and as the quiet soft-spoken taxi driver in the modern day whose experiences in the intervening time have left him emotionally bruised and battered.

King Frankie is a further reminder that Irish cinema is in a very good place.