Kelly O'Neill, Indie's Newest Starlet
Ireland is a country that's produced its share of talented young actresses -- most notably, Saoirse Ronan and Sarah and Emma Bolger. As the latest young star to join that constellation comes Kelly O'Neill, who plays the lead in the enchanting indie film Kisses. Kisses saw its American release this week (it's been out in its native Ireland since 2008) and it's impossible to find a review that doesn't rave over Kelly's performance as a troubled Dublin runaway. So far, critics have called her "breathtaking," "magical," and "a revelation," just to name a few.
In Kisses, Kelly plays Kylie, a preteen who lives with her six siblings and her exhausted, overworked mother in a rundown area of Dublin. She dodges the unwanted attentions of her mother's pervert boyfriend and listens to the screams coming from next door, where her best friend Dylan (Shane Curry) is living an even more hellish life with his alcoholic, abusive father. When the two are convinced their home lives can't get any worse, they run away.
Director Lance Daly says of casting Kelly, who made her acting debut in the movie and turned eleven during filming, "When Kelly came in, we were all fascinated. She had us all leaning forward in our chairs, so she really stood out. Shane was the only boy who could stand up to her, because she's like a force of nature."
The Huffington Post writes in its review of the film, "Kisses is compelling and amusing, breathtaking at times in its ability to put these kids in harm's way and slip them out of it with imagination and nerve. It's one of those small gems that vanish too quickly from theaters. Find it before it disappears."