Film / Spears

“Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends; they wound those who resort to them worse than their enemies.”

Emily Brontë

Spears is a 2022 Irish Neo Noir thriller, written and directed by Gerard Lough.

The film follows three separate protagonists in different locales:

Kian (Nigel Brennan) is a Private Investigator who's hired to go to Florence in search of an Egyptian called Camelia (Yaldá Shahidi) who's willingly gone missing.

Cormac (Aidan O'Sullivan) is a weapons dealer brought to London for a job and is quickly double crossed.

Jeff (Bobby Calloway) is an amateur conman on holiday with his girlfriend Rachael (Rebecca Rose Flynn) in Berlin, who dreams of her leaving her abusive husband to make her life with him.

All three cross paths with a mysterious man called Hidell (Michael Parle), and the film explores the nature of betrayal and revenge.

It was released on Amazon Prime and Vimeo on Demand in May 2022.

Tropes:

• Advertised Extra: The teaser trailer and tie-in music video for "Counterfeit" feature several shots of Kaireht Yovera as Ashaki, implying she's a main protagonist. She appears in just three scenes. This is because the video was made very early in production, consisting of footage that had already been shot. This is why Jeff, Kian and Hidell don't appear in it.
• The Alcoholic: Kian is a recovering one, who drinks water out of a hip flask to trick his cravings. After being conned, he's back on the bottle.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Rachael is quite distant, even to her boyfriend. She also gets a lot of scenes where she's mysteriously wearing Sinister Shades. She lacks the height, being around the same size as her boyfriend, but has the classical beauty and reserved attitude.
• Artistic License – Geography: When Cormac and Vadik are in their London hotel room, the familiar blue and yellow colouring of Dublin Bus can be seen through the window.
• Author Appeal: The fourth act of the film takes place in Donegal, where Gerard Lough is from. Actors Aidan O'Sullivan and Nigel Brennan are from there, and Bobby Calloway has a parent from there.
• Babies Ever After: After the con, it's revealed that Camelia is pregnant with Kian's baby.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Jeff is The Charmer who makes his money off being appealing to older women. Kian is an investigator who is Genre Savvy enough to call his losses. Cormac is a weapons dealer who prefers force over finesse.
• Big Fancy House: Hidell of course has one, with the splendid Rathmullan House serving as location.
• Big, Thin, Short Trio: Cormac (big), Kian (thin) and Jeff (short).
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Male examples. Cormac is the blond, Jeff is brunet and Kian is the redhead.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: In-universe. Rachael dramatically reveals she had an abusive husband, only for Jeff to say he'd guessed that already.
• Color Wash: Cormac and Jeff finding cocaine in the house has the frame being bathed in a red glow.
• Creator Cameo:
  • Gerard Lough appears in a flashback as the first man Hidell conned.
  • Producer Fatima Fleming cameos as a woman Vadik is trying to flirt with in the club.
• Cutaway Gag: When Jeff's email lists back problems, it cuts to him doing yoga stretches.
• Cycle of Revenge: Deconstructed. Kian tells Cormac and Jeff to be careful not to get involved in taking vengeance on Hidell, warning them that it'll become a vicious cycle.
• Deadpan Snarker: 80% of Cormac's lines are busting another character's chops.
• Decoy Protagonist: The first man we follow is Kian, who is part of the first con, and then he disappears for most of the last act as the story focuses on Cormac and Jeff.
• The Dulcinea Effect: Kian is compelled to help Camelia, even though he's meant to be bringing her back.
• Early-Bird Cameo: When Kian is listening in on Camelia's phone call, she's talking to a woman we don't see. On subsequent viewings, the voice is clearly that of Rachael, who will come into the story properly in the Berlin portions.
• Eiffel Tower Effect: We're told that each of the first three acts are taking place in their respective cities by the landmarks shown.
  • Florence is identified by the Piazza del Signoria.
  • London is identified by the Shard.
  • Berlin is identified by the Brandenberg gate.
  • Also, Rachael is confirmed to be in Dublin after a shot showing the Spire on O'Connell Street.
• Establishing Character Moment: Kian is established while investigating a woman cheating on her husband, and lying that she's alone.
• Everyone Has Standards: Jeff is opposed to using violence or too much force to get their revenge.
• Evil Brit: The Big Bad Hidell has a clipped RP accent (Michael Parle's real accent is not as extreme). Jeff would also be a subversion, as he's one of the more sympathetic of the characters.
• Exact Words: Vadik tells Cormac that transport will be waiting for him. The 'transport' is just a bike he has to cycle.
• Femme Fatale:
  • Camelia is the rare non-white variant. She pretends to be a woman fleeing an abusive husband, tricks her PI into bed, drugs him and then robs him blind. She however appears to feel something for him, judging by the end.
  • Rachael likewise poses as an abused wife to pull off a con, but she's more conflicted afterwards.
• French Jerk: Vadik is a sidekick to the Big Bad and is quite obnoxious.
• Freudian Trio: Cormac is the forceful and aggressive Id, Kian is the logical and Genre Savvy Superego, Jeff is the mediating Ego.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Hidell's backstory is he was once working as a teacher, managed to con a businessman out of £500 by chance and then got inspired to do it bigger.
• Genre Throwback: The film is heavily influenced by the neo-noirs of the 70s and 80s, particularly Sorcerer and Cutter's Way.
• The Ghost: Cormac's superior is a man called Gerry, who never appears on screen and only communicates through his associate Scanlon.
• Gilligan Cut: Jeff remarks that Vadik will probably be low-key; cut to Vadik dancing madly in a nightclub wearing a pair of mad neon glasses.
• Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: Rachael is cheating on her husband and justifies it by saying he's having affairs too.
• Hell-Bent for Leather:
  • Ashaki wears a pair of leather pants and jacket when working with the protagonists.
  • Jeff's main outfit includes a black leather jacket.
• High-Class Call Girl: Ashaki is implied to be expensive; helping catch an enemy isn't something the average streetwalker helps with.
• Icy Blue Eyes: Cormac's blue eyes show that he's cool and calculating.
• In Da Club: Cormac and Jeff try to catch Vadik while he's out partying at a club.
• In the Hood: You know Scanlon means business when he shows up covered with a hood. James Mackenzie had even worn the same thing playing a similar character in Belfast Calibre 9.
• It's Pronounced "Tro-PAY": Cormac pronounces Hidell's name as 'hiddle', and Vadik corrects him that it's 'high-dell'.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Cormac is the one prepared to torture Vadik to get information. Jeff isn't keen on the idea, but he merely leaves the house to let them do whatever.
• Literary Allusion Title: The title comes from a quote by Emily Bronte, mentioned above.
• Mamet Speak: Gerard Lough is a fan of David Mamet, and so his dialogue is quite witty and fast-paced. Lampshaded when Rachael reads one of Jeff's emails, and he remarks "it's not exactly David Mamet".
• Meaningful Rename: Jeff changed his name to try and escape his famous father's shadow. It's not said what his real one is.
• Most Writers Are Writers: Jeff is a wannabe writer who couldn't get a book sold, and so uses his Purple Prose to charm desperate older ladies.
• Nice Mean And In Between: Kian is a relatively honest private investigator, Cormac is a hostile weapons dealer willing to torture, Jeff is a conman who feels remorse and stops short of physical violence.
• Perma-Stubble: Both Jeff and Cormac always have a layer of stubble. May be justified by the film's short timespan.
• Scenery Porn: The scenery of each locale is shown off. Donegal is also shown off quite well too, with the very first scene of the film displaying the beauty of Slieve League.
• Sinister Shades:
  • Rachael wears them both in Berlin and at the waterfall in Donegal.
  • Camelia too wears them when she's being followed through Florence, as seen in the page image.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Cormac and Jeff grudgingly work together to get their revenge.
• Title Drop: The tagline gets dropped by Kian, when he tells Cormac that revenge "is a double edged spear".
• Tragic Keepsake: Jeff keeps a book Rachael gave him in Germany, and him burning it is a sign that he's acting on his revenge.
• What the Hell Is That Accent?:
  • Vadik's real accent is quite unusual. His actor Thomas Sharkey is of mixed Lebanese and Irish descent - born and raised in France but lots of time living in Dublin.
  • Jeff is said to be British but his accent occasionally sounds Australian. Again this is because Bobby Calloway is British born but has lived in Ireland for years.
• Wig, Dress, Accent: Vadik wears a pair of glasses and uses a thick accent as part of his cover.