The Slightest Touch LFF review: Colin Farrell stars in moving doc
You may think you know Colin Farrell based on his films and his public persona, but you’ll see a new side to him in The Slightest Touch, about his friendship with Emma Fogarty.
The documentary is set in the months leading up to the 2024 Dublin Marathon, where Farrell ran to raise money for those with the rare and painful genetic condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), like his friend Fogarty. She has skin as fragile as butterfly wings that can tear and blister at the slightest touch. She is the oldest living person in Ireland with her severe form of EB. To celebrate her 40th birthday and raise awareness for an under-researched condition, Farrell runs the marathon (pushing her for the last 4K).
The Slightest Touch is a beautiful documentary about resilience, determination and friendship. You would never expect a Hollywood star with a busy schedule and two kids to have such a firm friendship with a person he randomly met at an awards show in 2010. But their friendship just kept getting stronger from then on, despite him living in Los Angeles and her living in Ireland. As a result, much of their friendship is depicted through text messages, voice notes and FaceTime calls.
I expected this film to be fully focused on Fogarty, with Farrell dipping in and out whenever he was in Dublin. But that’s not the case. This is a story about both of them. I was surprised by how much access Farrell gave the documentary team, letting them into his LA home, meeting his sons Henry and James (who has Angelman syndrome), following him on his topless nighttime runs, and to Macau while he filmed Ballad of a Small Player. You get a lot of insight into who he is, and he seems like a kind, sensitive soul.
Fogarty is a remarkable woman who never expected to reach 40 (doctors thought she wouldn’t last a week!). She spends two to four hours every day getting her bandages changed; her fingers and toes have fused together and one of her legs has been amputated. Yet she has so much positivity and strength and a wicked sense of humour.
The Slightest Touch, directed by Rachel Fleit, doesn’t break the mould for a documentary about a disability, but it’s told well, is very moving, and Fogarty and Farrell’s friendship is beautiful.
Showing at the London Film Festival. Release info currently unknown