Alive and Kicking

Sunset Home is the elderly care facility from which the three women flee, setting the story in motion. Their unintended voyage takes them from a police encounter to the open sea and ultimately to the Irish island of Inishfada. Inishfada becomes the backdrop for a clash between outsider schemes and island solidarity.

🎭 Deception

Dora, Rosie and Mabel impersonate MacDonagh's nieces to gain shelter and avoid being split up. The ruse exposes social norms around propriety, marriage, and aging, turning private flight into public farce. The humor arises from the escalating cover stories and the locals' gullibility. The theme also questions whether a well-meaning deception can become a force for communal good.

🏝️ Community and hospitality

The islanders welcome the outsiders with a tea gathering and a spontaneous party, illustrating life on a close-knit island where strangers can become temporary neighbors. The locals' warmth clashes with the women's fear of exposure, creating a balance between suspicion and goodwill. The sweater market emerges from a chance encounter, showing how community networks drive small economies.

💡 Entrepreneurship

Dora orchestrates a profitable knitted-sweater venture by tapping into the island's labor and a London connection. The plan demonstrates how improvisation and social ties can create real opportunity in a tiny economy. The women transform a precarious situation into a short-lived, but tangible, business success.