‘Once Upon A Time In A Cinema’ review: Dublin opener is nostalgic drama set in 1980s Limerick

Dir/scr: David Gleeson. Ireland/Belgium. 2025. 91mins

Anyone nostalgic for a time before sleek multiplexes, recliner seats and the smell of nachos in the evening should warm to David Gleeson’s Once Upon A Time In A Cinema. Set in a down-at-heel Limerick cinema in 1984, it pens a sentimental love letter to the joys of watching a film in the company of strangers. Following an ideal world premiere as the Dublin International Film Festival opening gala, it could secure a modest domestic theatrical release aimed at an older demographic.

An entirely convincing vision of an old-school cinema

Gleeson was born into a family of Irish cinema owners and Once Upon A Time feels personal as it as it strives to add to the canon of movies about movie halls that stretches from Cinema Paradiso (1988) and Splendour (1989) to Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003) and more recently Empire Of Light (2022). There is even a reference to The Smallest Show On Earth (1957) just to drive home the point .

Earl Clancy (Colin Morgan) is the Scrooge-like figure at the heart of the film. Consumed by festering resentment and suppressed fury, he is the long-suffering manager of a single-screen family cinema in the heart of Limerick. He bustles through his kingdom greeting customers, confronting troublemakers and even operating the projector when required. He has always believed that the show must go, even if just to honour the legacy of his late father.

One Friday evening performance of Breathless (1983) assumes a life-changing status as businessman Harry Conway ( Stanley Townsend) pays a visit. He is planning to make an offer for the business that Earl cannot refuse. Earl’s younger brother Gerald (Salam Lynch) is eager to accept so they can both move on with their lives. 

Gleeson and production designer Tracey O’Hanlon present us with an entirely convincing vision of an old-school cinema. The shabby glamour of what is on public view conceals the chaos behind the scenes. Neon signs, maroon hues, the whirr of the projector, heavy red curtains and the glow of the footlights all add to the atmosphere. The walls are festooned with quad posters for forthcoming attractions (Class Of 1984, Red Dawn etc) but a montage of newspaper headlines attest to the belief that the rise of the VCR will soon spell the death knell for cinemas.

Gleeson’s screenplay feels as if a lifetime of family anecdotes have been compressed into one night when Earl is faced with everything going wrong. His many challenges range from rebellious daughter Kate (Clara Crichton) to a burst water pipe, an inebriated projectionist, power cuts and a rat on the premises. No wonder he is tempted by an offer to sell. The film maintains its comic energy from the relentless pressure placed on Earl as he rushes to solve every professional and personal crisis.

Reel changes required in the projection box tie him to a strict timetable of availability. The film is structured around titles declaring ‘Reel 1’, ‘Reel 2’ etc and proves modestly amusing rather than uproarious.There remains a feeling that the film is just careering from one incident to the next. Gleeson does incorporate some nice little touches along the way with a sly nod to the projection and print standards of the time – scratches on screen, glitches and shudders – to enhance our viewing experience.

The film gains emotional weight when it lays bare the conflicts between the brothers and some home truths about their father, and Morgan’s prickly, subdued Earl finally gains our sympathies. A key scene that testifies to the cinema as a beloved symbol of community spirit is sure to warm any cineaste’s heart.