The Films of Lenny Abrahamson: A Filmmaking of Philosophy

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The Films of Lenny Abrahamson: A Filmmaking of Philosophy of provides a comprehensive study of the films of contemporary, highly critically-appraised Irish director Lenny Abrahamson. As well as considering the aesthetics, cultural reflections and philosophical concerns in the better known work of this dynamic and profoundly original Irish filmmaker, it also looks at his short film – 3 Joes – and his little-seen student film Mendel. As the first sustained study of Abrahamson’s engaging and cinematically rich work, Barry Monahan’s book sheds light on the aesthetic wealth of the artist and connects his stylistic innovations to the context of his projects’ socio-cultural background, to his own influences in modern cinema – going beyond Irish film, to reflect upon the works of auteurs such as Bergman, Tarkovsky, Kubrick, and Kaurismäki among others – and to a broader reflection on what his canon has to contribute to the philosophy of cinema, art, and questions about human existence in the 21st century. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction Five contextual categories: Classifying cinema in Ireland Four cinematic categories: The national and beyond 1. 3 Joes The young filmmaker and the first short: Mendel A new context for Irish fi lm production and 3 Joes Inner speech and cinema: What 3 Joes does not say 2. Adam & Paul Celtic Tiger cinema: From short films to features Structuring absences: Aesthetic sculpting Dual protagonists and the cyclical narrative A dystopian urban fairy tale 3. Garage A second collaboration with Mark O’Halloran Aesthetic minimalism of action and dialogue A phenomenological consideration of the film Self-enlightenment and Josie’s epiphany 4. What Richard Did Characters in context Richard, narrative and Sartre’s ‘bad faith’ Withholding expressionism: Richard separated from narrative space 5. Frank Inside the head of the character in early cinema The Frank behind the head inside the head The ideas behind the face inside the face Idealism and materialism in Frank Phenomenology and photogénie: Frank’s head as seeing and seen Barthes and Deleuze: The framed face as approach to cinema Concrete becoming abstract: Comedy and music in Frank 6. Room Contexts for the novel and its adaptation Room’s innocent first-person narrator Levels of reality in Room: Aristotle’s cave and Baudrillard’s Simulacra Jack’s language as mediating and constituting reality 7. Interview with Lenny Abrahamson (Dublin, 1 June 2014) Bibliography Audio-Visual and Internet Sources Filmography Index