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Deadly Cuts (Rachel Carey, 2021) opens with a trailer-like-advertisement of an imaginary satirical hair competition. The viewer is introduced to lush, swish haircuts. Jedward and Amy Huberman lookalikes swamp an off-red carpet, putting across the theme of Irish ‘notions’ and an atmosphere of Father Ted folly to the viewer.  Drawing inspiration from the melodrama of Desperate Housewives mixed with Fair City’s crudeness, the viewer is introduced to a comic delight that is jubilant with love and heart. Depicting the accessible opulence and spectacle of hairdressing competitions, Deadly Cuts is an unusual pageant that is particularly laughable when mixed with over the top posh South Dublin accents. 

Once this glamourous mirage fades, we are introduced to the titular ‘Deadly Cuts’ salon, a Northside women’s salon faced with a high stakes dilemma. The hairdressers (Victoria Smurfitt, Angelina Bell, Erica Roe, and Shauna Higgins) and their largely middle aged and elderly clients (including Pauline McLynn of Father Ted fame) are plagued daily by gang violence in Piglinstown. Their quaint town is one made up of a lively, tightly knit working class community. Corrupt councillors, clueless police, and commercial interests threaten the main streets vitality and, more importantly, the livelihood of the Piglinstown inhabitants. Their only hope for saving the town is if the Deadly Cuts salon wins the AHHhair (Ah, here) hairdressing competition. The town is known for its antisocial behaviour. Should the hairdressers win the competition, the social capital from winning the competition title would prevent the small hairdressers and other retailers from being demolished and gentrified. The premise is simple but the outrageous plot isn’t. Trust me.  

Our protagonist, 20 year old Pippa (Victoria Smurfitt), struggles for self determination and value in a world that doesn’t see her as important. She craves winning the AHHhair competition to prove her worth to her absent mother, and to show that excellence is possible to achieve in Piglinstown, despite the constant looming threat of gangs. 

Deadly Cuts straddles the line between comedy and horror. With gags going a mile a minute, it doesn’t really matter that not all of them land. The movie utilises caricatures of poshness, corruption and male violence to help portray the real absurd divides of Dublin itself: whether it be people sleeping on the street in the financial district or private school Trinity students talking about inner city ‘scumbags’ (when they themselves will likely never be faced with sleeping rough).

Particularly interesting to me was the film’s depiction of gang violence. A staple of American cinema, gang films are a popular sub-genre. Recently, the Irish film Calm with Horses (2019) explored this theme. Directed by Nick Rowland, this film showed women as passive victims to gang violence. Serving a perfect tonic, Deadly Cuts shows women overcoming the trauma of gang violence. By mixing traditional Irish cunning and wit with the trendy female revenge thriller genre, the film reveals how women may support one another and heal the pain of male terror. Like the more self-serious Gone Girl (David Fincher, 2014), the real feminist message of the film may be the murders that the women aid and abet on the way. 

Jokes aside, the film’s central message that ‘people can only humiliate you should you give them the power to’ is intersectional when considered in the context of the working class characters’ pride of place. 

The portrayal of male violence in the film gives what could have been a slapstick comedy a jarring and almost realist quality. In our cinema, and our daily lives, male violence is normalised and increasingly glorified. By subverting the trope of women as passive victims, Deadly Cuts give a new perspective to a story where women are often seen as one dimensional victims of male violence. To see a story where women emerge triumphant from the struggles of gang violence and intimidation is a refreshing break from the well worn stories of our past and present. 

The movie is unapologetically feminist in its message, with the elders and the community of women in Piglinstown making the real heroes of the film. The humour, intelligence and love that the women of Piglinstown exhibit makes for truly heartwarming and inspiring cinema. With a punchy plot, black comedy and a great sense of fun, the film is the perfect post pandemic treat. If you want girlbossery escapism and a quirky unfamiliar plot, this is the film for you. Deadly Cuts’ writing and the hairdressers’ wit and pride is the movie’s breakout success. What it lacks in budget and nuance, it makes up for in heart and unapologetic sentiment. One can only hope that Carey will have a larger budget to work with in her next feature. This is one for those that missed the craic and gossip of the hairdressers. Hup Piglinstown all the way. 

 

Deadly Cuts is out in Irish cinemas now.