Stuart Clark

The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.

Desmond Doyle is devastated when his wife abandons their family on the day after Christmas. His unemployment, and the fact that there is no woman in the house to care for the children—Evelyn, Dermot and Maurice—make it clear to the authorities this is an untenable situation. The Catholic Church and the Irish courts decide to put the Doyle children into Church-run orphanages.

Told in real time and shot as a single take, BOXING DAY documents the minute by minute events across the course of an afternoon in the life of Chris Sykes - a recovering alcoholic and estranged father. Living alone on home detention, Chris is preparing Christmas lunch for his family when an old friend turns up at his doorstep and reveals a disturbing truth. When his daughter, his wife and her new boyfriend finally arrive, the situation slowly and inevitability escalates and we are drawn into the compelling story of a desperate father who finally exposes the dark and disturbing secret that has torn his family apart.