Hideaways

Hideaways
Directed by	Agnès Merlet
Produced by	Marc Missonnier Olivier Delbosc Jean-Luc Ormieres
Written by	Nick Murphy
Starring	Rachel Hurd-Wood Harry Treadaway James Wilson Thomas Sangster Susan Lynch
Narrated by	Rachel Hurd-Wood
Cinematography	Tim Fleming
Production company	Ardmore Studios
Distributed by	Wild Bunch
Release date	21 April 2011 (2011-04-21) (Tribeca)
Country	Ireland France Sweden
Language	English
Budget	€6.6 million

Hideaways is a thriller fantasy with directed by Agnès Merlet and written by Nick Murphy. It stars Rachel Hurd-Wood and Harry Treadaway. The film is a French/Irish/Swedish co-production.

James Furlong is the last in a long line of Furlongs who were each blessed or cursed with a strange ability. His grandfather, Charlie went temporarily blind when he thought about sex. His father, Philip could turn off anything electrical when he was frightened. From the moment of his violent birth, involving the death of his mother, his life seems ill-fated, but it is unclear what kind of ability, if any, he possesses. Growing up in rural Ireland, his grandmother tells him about the strange quirks of his ancestors and the boy begins to experiment on himself, longing to discover some extraordinary, hidden power. But instead, his experiments lead to the death of his family's livestock, followed swiftly by the loss of Philip and his beloved grandmother, Charlotte. By the time he is ten years old, James is the sole survivor of the Furlong family.

James is sent to St. Judes reformatory, but does not adjust easily to life there. Having been home-schooled on the farm, he is not equipped with the necessary social skills or abilities on the sports-field. He is bullied by the other boys, especially Kevin and Stephen. His only friend is Liam, the only one who shows him any kindness. His powers then kill the hurling Coach's vicious dog Tinkerbell. The principal, Mrs. Moore, suspects Kevin because of his smug attitude. Kevin and Stephen attack James, for getting Kevin into trouble. A mysterious illness then sweeps through the reformatory, killing everyone except James and Liam, who flees and suffers only lung problems. In the chaos that ensues, he finally begins to comprehend the dark, destructive nature of his powers, and at the first opportunity he goes into hiding.

Years later, he is discovered by a young woman, living out a lonely existence completely isolated from society. Mae (named after actress Mae West) has run away from hospital where she is being treated for cancer and comes across James's cottage deep in the woods by chance. Initially, he is reluctant to have anything to do with her, fearful of harming her, but Mae has already resigned herself to her fate and is afraid of very little – certainly not of James with his gentle nature, and childlike innocence. Even when she learns his story, she is unafraid, and urges him to leave the cottage and his lonely life behind. Mae wants to savor all the time she has left in the world and hates to see someone so loving and compassionate isolated from it and denying himself everything that life has to offer.