'Skintown' review: Breezy, loved-up comedy in The Troubles

Variety's 'skintown' review breezy loved-up verdict is clear: Kieron J. Walsh's warm-hearted "Skintown" is a fizzy, rave-romanticizing friendship comedy set in 1994 Enniskillen during The Troubles, blending ecstasy-fueled capers, bittersweet coming-of-age lessons, and slangy Northern Irish humor without heavy sectarian politics. Reviewed online on Aug. 20, 2026, after its Edinburgh Film Festival competition screening, the 98-minute film arrives as a more cautious cousin to "Derry Girls" and a politer sibling to "Kneecap."

Key Takeaways

• Variety praises "Skintown" as a breezy, drugged-up coming-of-age story set in 1994 Enniskillen, nicknamed "Skintown" by locals.
• Jack Rowan's Vinny bonds with a British squaddie and his raver best mate Jonty (Chris Walley) before an inadvertent ecstasy heist pulls them into UVF trouble.
• Adapted by Enniskillen native Ciarán McMenamin from his 2018 novel, the screenplay favors eccentric local detail over trenchant political commentary.
• The film balances MDMA-infused idealism with inevitable tragedy, reminding viewers that most Northern Irish residents lived ordinary, humorous daily lives amid conflict.
• "Skintown" screened in Edinburgh Film Festival competition and is an Ireland-U.K. co-production backed by Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen.

What Is 'Skintown' About?

"Skintown" unfolds in Enniskillen, a Fermanagh town locals unflatteringly dub "Skintown" and that Variety notes is famous for "a lake, an old castle and an IRA bomb that killed 11 civilians in 1987." Vinny (Jack Rowan), 23 but characterized younger, wants out—not only because of the intractable conflict but because his hometown familiarity has curdled into contempt as adulthood beckons.

He strikes up an unlikely friendship with Wilson (Hope Ikpoku Jr.), a Black squaddie from Manchester deployed on despised British military patrols. Both men see the army and escape as ways to leave the places that shaped them. Vinny also clings to his paramedic mother (Roisin Gallagher), his peppy crush Eileen (Jamie Lee O'Donnell), and shell-suited raver best friend Jonty.

Why Does Variety Compare It to 'Kneecap' and 'Derry Girls'?

Variety positions Walsh's film as part of a wave of Northern Irish storytelling that mixes humor, nostalgia, and Troubles-era tension. Like "Kneecap," it channels youthful rebellion; like "Derry Girls," it finds comedy in ordinary life under extraordinary pressure. Yet Variety calls "Skintown" more timid and sentimental than "Kneecap," carefully avoiding alienating sectarian perspectives while directing most of its rancor at politicians.

When the IRA ceasefire is announced, brief euphoria is dampened by a barfly's dry observation: "If there's any conceivable way to fuck this up, those politicians will find it." The film namechecks Catholics, Protestants, Republicans, Unionists, the IRA, UVF, UDA, INLA, RUC, and the Brits with roughly equal disparagement.

How Does the Ecstasy Caper Drive the Plot?

Vinny and Jonty are pressganged into a caper involving ecstasy stolen from the UVF, a loyalist paramilitary group. Thick as thieves, they stand to make serious cash if they sell the drugs and survive—far more than their part-time jobs at a neighborhood pizzeria run by the splendidly named Tony Pepperoni (Michael Smiley), who serves pizza with Peking ribs because, he insists, "the Irish aren't ready for pizza on its own."

DP Ruairi O'Brien keeps images bright even when budget limits show in sparse crowds and camera-ready street scenes. Jonty hands out pills at a rave "like they're communion wafers," and marching-season Orangemen routinely parade down the main street while barmaid Chalky (Tara Lynne O'Neill) sighs that they'd "want to get a move on if they're planning on stopping outside every Catholic pub."

Should You Watch 'Skintown'?

Variety's bottom line: do not come for trenchant political commentary. Come for slangy jokes, '90s kitsch, and a precise evocation of the love-hate relationship many Irish people hold for home. Nostalgia, the review notes, "is a hell of a drug," and "Skintown" buzzes on both nostalgia and ecstasy, delivering bittersweet life lessons with retroactive affection and an eager, appealing cast.

The film ramps up to inevitable tragedy to undercut its bursts of MDMA-infused idealism, yet remains a gently pointed reminder that while Northern Ireland was internationally synonymous with terrorism and reprisal, most inhabitants were ordinary people going about humdrum business—with indomitable humor. For more coverage of festival debuts and streaming-bound titles, see our Streaming & TV Alerts hub. Read the full critical assessment in Variety's review.