"Plain Jane" - written by Connie Farrell
While in Achill, we had the chance to speak with Connie Farrell, and Irish film maker and professor in Gallway. Her short narrative film "Plain Jane" featured above was funded by an RTE short film award. It was shot over a 4 day span by a crew of 16 and is one of the first Irish HD films.
The story features a telemarketer who is in apparent trouble at work and in general as her life is quite a mess. She is a dreamer, filled with romantic notions who deeply wishes to be someone she is not. The film features muted colors as a fitting analogy for Jane's muted life. She is clearly delusional, perhaps schizophrenic as she is overtaken by irrational urges to change herself, getting lost in the process. As she morphs into the new, 'brighter' Jane, the Jane who appears strong and put together to the outer world, the colors of the film brighten from their muted state.
The film was originally conceived as a 1960's period piece set in New York, but the finished product is set on a more universal stage with a deep moral message - "if you don't fight for yourself, you'll get left behind".