The film stars Irish actors from Kin, Love/Hate and Say Nothing.

Birthistle’s feature directorial debut, the film follows Kathleen (Hazel Doupe, Say Nothing), an 18-year-old fresh out of foster care who returns to her hometown to take ownership of her deceased mother’s house.

Unsatisfied with her life and lonely, she forms a connection with her next-door neighbour, Dee (Clare Dunne, Kin), a wife and mother also grieving the loss of a loved one.

While their relationship at first seems beneficial for both of them, it isn’t long before one of them forms an unhealthy attachment with the other.

Also co-starring Peter Coonan (Love/Hate) as Dee’s husband, Kathleen Is Here begins as a social realist drama, showcasing the struggles young people can face coming out of care.

As the film goes, though, it gradually evolves into an extremely tense thriller, which is all the more effective because you believe in the people at the centre of the story.

Its third act is so nail-biting in fact, that the movie has earned comparisons to classic ’80s and ’90s character-focused thrillers like Fatal Attraction, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and Single White Female.

JOE had the pleasure of speaking to both Birthistle and Doupe ahead of Kathleen Is Here’s release in cinemas, and during our conversation, we brought up those comparisons.

In particular, we asked the writer-director whether she was looking to those types of movies for inspiration.

Birthistle said in response: “Well, I think I was thinking of them. But I was thinking of them more so in how I didn’t want to portray Kathleen because I didn’t want to demonise her. I didn’t want to make her into a villain.

“It starts off as a drama very purposely for that reason. I wanted to make sure that the audience understood why she made the decisions that she did. Even if they didn’t agree with what she was doing, they could sympathise with her and they could see her making mistakes as she went along.

“The research that we did and the people we were talking to and listening to, the very true stories of people’s experiences of coming out of care, it was really important that we weren’t standing back in judgement. So hopefully we’ve achieved that as well.

“But I did also purposely up the ante and heightened it a little bit. Because I felt the stories lent themselves for the film to go in that direction, whilst hopefully still remaining truthful to… the people who’ve been through an actual experience like this, to their journeys and plights. So, it’s just trying to strike that balance really.”

Kathleen Is Here is airing on TV tonight on RTÉ2 at 9.25pm. The movie is also available to rent on Apple TV, IFI@Home, Rakuten TV and the Sky Store.

Kathleen is Here Trailer

Here are the other movies airing on TV tonight:

Bohemian Rhapsody – Film4 – 9pm

Rami Malek won the Best Actor for his turn as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in this music biopic.

Knives Out – E4 – 9pm

The Daniel Craig-starring murder mystery that launched a trilogy.

Survivor – Legend – 9pm

Milla Jovovich and Pierce Brosnan star in this action spy thriller with a very low 8% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Big Kill – Legend Xtra – 9pm

A 2019 indie Western with Danny Trejo, Jason Patric and Lou Diamond Phillips.

Forsaken – TG4 – 9.30pm

This 2015 Western stars real-life father and son Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, and earned mixed reviews.

Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead – Legend – 10.55pm

An underrated ’90s dark comedy crime thriller about five different criminals (led by Andy Garcia) who face imminent death after botching a job.

Silver Haze – BBC Two – 11pm

This 2023 British drama follows a young nurse (Vicky Knight) obsessed with a thirst for revenge who falls in love.

Be Good or Be Gone – RTÉ One – 11.15pm

This solid 2020 Irish drama follows two cousins (Declan Mills and Les Martin) over four days in contemporary Dublin as they receive temporary release from Mountjoy prison.

Despite big plans to turn their life around, they find themselves pulled back into the criminal underworld.

Acts of Vengeance – Legend Xtra – 11.30pm

Antonio Banderas plays a man who seeks vengeance after his wife and daughter are killed in this 2017 action thriller.

Benedetta – Film4 – 11.45pm

One of the most provocative movies of recent years, Benedetta sees legendary director Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, RoboCop, Showgirls) tell the story of a notorious 17th-century nun in Italy (played by an excellent Virginie Efira).

Turn your home into a cinema with this projector 

Do you love movies? Have you ever dreamt of turning your home into your own cinema?

If so, then you may be interested in a home theatre projector we spotted on sale on Amazon with “impressive quality”.

The 4K projector has the likes of YouTube, Netflix and Prime Video built-in, so you can access thousands of films and shows without an additional TV stick, and you can also connect it to Bluetooth on your phone and laptop.

It’s currently priced from €36.99 on the Amazon website.

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