‘Forever Is Now’ review: Immersive, balanced portrait of Ireland Green Party leader Eamon Ryan

Dir: Neasa Ni Chianain. Ireland. 2026. 100mins

Documentarian Neasa Ni Chianain takes a fly-on-the-wall look at 18 months in the life of Ireland’s Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, beginning in July 2023 when he was Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport under Taoiseachs Leo Varadkar and later Simon Harris. Forever Is Now follows Ryan as he works on key events, including climate change conferences COP28 and COP29, and also provide glimpses of his homelife – particularly time spent with his autistic adult son Tommy, who needs 24/7 care. “The biggest cost is to family,” says Ryan when he’s asked if he has any regrets about devoting his life to politics.

Gives a sense of the bustle of politics without getting swept along by it

Ni Chianain and her producer David Rane put their extensive documentary experience on films including School Life (which they co-directed) and the IFTA-winning Young Plato (which Rane also produced) to good use here, wrangling a wealth of footage and ideas. While the Irish politics on display in Forever Is Now, which premieres at Dublin International Film Festival, might not have quite the same universal hook as those films, it should appeal to similar audiences as last year’s Jacinda Ardern portrait Prime Minister. Its consideration of the world’s climate crisis should also draw additional attention from those who previously warmed to the likes of Al Gore doc An Inconvenient Truth.

Gore appears in Forever Is Now, which views the environment as an important supporting character. We see its gentler side on Ryan’s county walks with Tommy, and its destructive nature at other points – including the aftermath of a flood, as Ryan soaks up a storm of protest from locals. The documentary doesn’t just show the various pressures that swirl about Ryan but the impact it has on his small team; particularly from social media, where he is harangued by everyone from Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary to someone who wishes he should “vault from a cliff”.

Ryan’s media advisor Edel Hackett is a force of nature in her own right, displaying a commitment to the cause that burns as brightly as his. There may be occasional whispers of friction, but Ni Chianain’s emphasis is on team unity.

Forever Is Now also accentuates the importance of language. Domestically, one of Ryan’s team cautions him to refer to “nature” rather than “biodiversity” with Ryan musing on the importance of “always using the simpler word”. The COP climate change conferences are also shown to be as obsessed with wording, as “transitioning away from” becomes more palatable than “phasing out”.

Ryan is also aware of how vital the language of persuasion is when it comes to convincing people that money spent will be money saved in the long run. When he is invited onto The Late Late Show, it’s fascinating to see him practising answers with his team and, later, to watch them watching him as he fields additional, sometimes tricky, questions on air.

Ni Chianain gives a sense of the bustle of politics without getting swept along by it, ensuring that Ryan remains centrestage. Adept editing from Philippe Ravoet, who also worked on Young Plato, often economically sets the scene with a flurry of news snippets about a certain topic which acts as a narrative signpost. If the film’s vérité approach doesn’t lend itself to clinical dissection of individual policies, it makes up for that with its immersive nature, allowing us to see past the politics to the genuine care Ryan has for environmental stewardship and how his patient approach with his son is mirrored by his strategy at work.

The scoring from Alex Simu is also characterful, driven by clarinet and strings, avoiding bombastic flourishes in favour of a more free-wheeling flavour that marries well with the spontaneous reactions Ryan is often called upon to give in the course of his job. The rise of right-wing populism acts like a storm front in Forever Is Now but Ryan’s relentlessly hopeful attitude suggests that brighter days can still lie ahead.