P.S.

Shout or, in this case comment if you're alive!

"Did you see that ?! That was Life passing you by.."

In the year 2004 Damien O'Donnell enriches us by Inside I'm Dancing. The movie is about Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy, my personal favorite) who suffers of Duchenne muscular distrophy, and Michael Connolly (Steven Robertson in an impressive role) with cerebral palsy and a nearly unintelligible speech.

You may think that my title is rather ironic but after this movie you'll find quite the opposite. The movie opens with the image of conscience in a sick body. When Rory appears, you can see "he's trouble" but he does have a good taste in music. Imagine a blonde, spiked hair youth who can only move two fingers but listens to Frontier Psychiatrist (The Avalanche), has an "Anarchy" poster on his wall and in the first night howls for everyone to hear "Shout if you're alive!" in a home for the disabled. In spite of Rory's differences to the other patients, he gets along with Michael, because he is the only one who understands him.

Michael's situation is quite obvious:

Rory: You don't get out too much, doo you?

Michael: What's out there?

Rory's state of mind could be described with:

Rory's Dad: How's your breathing?

Rory: In and out.. (He IS having lung-problems,so the question was for real..)

When they go out to collect money for the disabled, they go for a drink and Michael, also called by Rory, Mary or Martha sees a bit of the real world. Rory takes him to a club too, where everybody's dancing. So are they,..inside.

In the meantime Rory tries to get a support to live independetly, but he is refused. Like it wouldn't be enough, imagine the irony of listening at a home of disabled people to "an artist" entertaining the patients with "He's got the whole World in his hands.."

When Michael realises that the institutional living restricts his way of life, he gets the support and he asks Rory to go with him. They get a good apartment from Michaels indifferent father, who, after this philantropical move excludes himself from his sons life. After finding and convincing a girl, Shioban to take care of them, starts "criple-heaven". But every miracle lasts for three days and when Michael falls for Shioban, the dream-popping question comes out: "What do you have to offer to a woman like that?"

I read somewhere that "Without the possibility of suicide, life would be unbearable." There's a part when the guys are on a bridge and they want to commit suicide, but...they can't...like, physically can't..so: Rory: "Take a letter, Michael. To Dublin City Council. 'Dear Sir or Madam. As wheelchair users with suicidal intentions, I must protest at a lack of facilities. None of the bridges are equipped with easy parapet access, thus curtailing the rights of the disabled to throw themselves in. Yours in disgust, Rory Gerard O'Shea and Michael Connolly.' "