Found on a computer screen

The most notable thing about the film is the novel way of telling the story through the medium (largely) of computer screen shots. This relies of the father making extensive use of video calls (this was filmed pre-covid and the ubiquitous use of Zoom) - and even the outdoor live action footage is largely shown as captured on phone cameras or by broadcast news reports on a computer screen. It also relies on the daughter having been an extensive user of social media which dad gets access to via her laptop and happening to know a password for one of her email accounts so he can reset passwords on Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr etc. 

On the whole the technique works well once it has set our expectations but I'm not sure it wouldn't start to interfere with the story if it was done again. On the other hand it is often said that the existence of mobile phones have made conventional thriller plots far harder to construct and this is one way around that problem. (The TV series Casa del Papel - Money Heist - also managed it quite well, embedding the use and abuse of technology into the core plotlines)

The plot itself is a fairly straightforward thriller/missing person mystery well executed. The twists are subtly telegraphed beforehand so the viewer can have the satisfaction of thinking "I though something like that was happening" after each is revealed.

On the whole an enjoyable movie. We watched it on a 5ft home projection screen - it might be a bit overwhelming on a large cinema screen - and sitting on a sofa where we normally spend far too much time with a laptop so it seemed quite normal.

Like a fine wine

I see we watched this 7 or 8 years ago and I gave it 5/7 stars. Well today it seemed that it really merited 6 stars. It has the occasional joke and is a bit oirish, but underneath that it is an interesting story about a man forced by circumstances to take a fresh look at the community he lives in and the flaws and failings of the people therein. 

Did he know all along who he was going to meet on the beach - probably. Amazingly I didn't remember how it ended until it happened and not even then. Still hoping that the redemption wouldn't rely on his last words to his daughter.

A fine Irish film.