In County Leitrim in the 1950s, Bridie has been attending the local dance hall for years in the hope of finding a good husband who can help work her family's farm. Now surrounded by younger, prettier women at the dances, she comes to the realisation that all the good men of her generation have emigrated or have been spoken for, and her only remaining hope for marriage is with the alcoholic and unreliable Bowser Egan.
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Like many of the best Irish films, Ballroom has a notable literary source. A BBC/RTÉ television co-production adapted by William Trevor from his short story, it’s a delicate portrait of loneliness in a landscape of perpetual economic malaise and mass emigration (problems Irish audiences still experienced in 1982). In the 1950s, temporary escape and hope were found, if it was found, in the rural dancehalls, often to the siren sounds of far Amerikay. Despite Bridie’s willingness to capitulate, she may never become a bride. But she’s only one victim. Many others dance, anonymous, just beyond the boundaries of our screen.
