‘All Saints Day’ is the hard hitting debut feature film by writer/director Matt Aaron Krinsky centering on a dysfunctional Irish-American family in Massachusetts joining forces to save their ailing older sibling who is suffering from alcohol abuse and dementia symptons.

The bickering siblings include drifter Ronan (Jeff Berg) and priest Mickey (Chad Doreck) who share polar opposite lifestyles and beliefs, relucantly reunited after many years to try and get eldest brother Kier (a darkly grizzled Don Swayze) to kick the bottle for good and put their own family demons to rest.

To complicate matters more, long estranged sister, Fiona ( a winning Aly Thrasher) shows up at Ronan’s apartment unexpectedly but the bitter Kier refuses to believe she is family resulting in a tense evening of hidden family secrets and revelations.

‘All Saints Day’ is a solid throwback to early 90’s indie dramedy’s in the vain of ‘The Brother’s McMullen’ and ‘Outside Providence’ where lovable Irish-American families laugh and squabble in equal measures but Krinsky’s film settlles for more grit and melancholy and bravely leaves little hint of a happy ending for any of the siblings.

The moslty one location story showcases the strong performances of all involved (especially the charismatic pair of Berg and Doreck) and Swayze has a wonderfully tender scene (when he realizes Fiona is who she says she is) but hinders the film as a cinematic whole and feels more suited to the stage than screen. Working class Boston has always been a great backdrop for kitchen sink drama but we see and experience very little of it.

The small, dreary world of the Connolly family drama remains meticulously contained throughout the film but ends up leaving the audience a bit left out in the cold.

An Essex Street Productions, USA, 2025, 99 Minutes.

‘All Saints Day’ is available to stream now on Prime, Tubi, Plex and Fawesome.