Rupert Everett and Derek Jacobi also star.
Screen can reveal a first look at Devika Bhise in Cayenne Pepper Productions’ historical epic Swords And Sceptres, which has now wrapped after filming in the UK, India and Morocco.
Source: Cayenne Pepper Productions
Swords And Sceptres
Rupert Everett, Derek Jacobi, Ben Lamb and Jodhi May also star in the film alongside a host of established Indian actors including Nagesh Bhonsle, Yatin Karyekar, Milind Gunaji, Arif Zakaria, and Ajinkya Deo.
Cayenne Pepper Productions CEO Swati Bhise, producer of The Man Who Knew Infinity, makes her feature debut as a director on the film. She is also producing and Charles Salmon is co-producing.
Swords And Sceptres tells the true story of Rani Lakshmibai, the historic Queen of Jhansi who fiercely led her army against the British East India Company in the infamous Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Swati Bhise commented on the project: “I wanted to make this film to tell an inspirational...
Screen can reveal a first look at Devika Bhise in Cayenne Pepper Productions’ historical epic Swords And Sceptres, which has now wrapped after filming in the UK, India and Morocco.
Source: Cayenne Pepper Productions
Swords And Sceptres
Rupert Everett, Derek Jacobi, Ben Lamb and Jodhi May also star in the film alongside a host of established Indian actors including Nagesh Bhonsle, Yatin Karyekar, Milind Gunaji, Arif Zakaria, and Ajinkya Deo.
Cayenne Pepper Productions CEO Swati Bhise, producer of The Man Who Knew Infinity, makes her feature debut as a director on the film. She is also producing and Charles Salmon is co-producing.
Swords And Sceptres tells the true story of Rani Lakshmibai, the historic Queen of Jhansi who fiercely led her army against the British East India Company in the infamous Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Swati Bhise commented on the project: “I wanted to make this film to tell an inspirational...
- 1/10/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
The classic Irish short film, 'A Day For The Fire,' on the tragic theme of suicide in modern Ireland, with riveting performances by Jonathan Ryan (Patriot Games) and Jon Kenny (D’Unbelievables) will be screened on Rte 2 Shortscreen, Monday 4th April ’16 at 12 midnight.
A man returns to his native village after a twenty year exile. He meets another man in a rural pub who reveals during a brief conversation that his son has taken his own life. The casual admission of this tragedy shocks the viewer into the realization that even in such an idyllic landscape the pressures of modern life can take their toll.
The short was shot by acclaimed cinematographer Seamus Deasy, with a haunting score by Hollywood composer Patrick Cassidy, the film is written and directed by Maurice O’Callaghan (Broken Harvest). The film has played in selected cinemas in Ireland throughout 2014 and 2015 and may also be viewed on Youtube.
A man returns to his native village after a twenty year exile. He meets another man in a rural pub who reveals during a brief conversation that his son has taken his own life. The casual admission of this tragedy shocks the viewer into the realization that even in such an idyllic landscape the pressures of modern life can take their toll.
The short was shot by acclaimed cinematographer Seamus Deasy, with a haunting score by Hollywood composer Patrick Cassidy, the film is written and directed by Maurice O’Callaghan (Broken Harvest). The film has played in selected cinemas in Ireland throughout 2014 and 2015 and may also be viewed on Youtube.
- 3/30/2016
- by noreply@blogger.com (Flicks News)
- FlicksNews.net
BBC Worldwide North America announced today the acquisition of Queen And Country, the latest film by five-time Academy Award nominated director and writer John Boorman (Hope and Glory, Excalibur, The General, Deliverance), securing all rights in North America.
The film, which Boorman has announced will be his last, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2014 and was acquired after making its North American debut during Film Comment’s special screening at the 52nd New York Film Festival earlier this month.
Queen And Country introduces Callum Turner (Ripper Street, Borgias) to the big screen and also stars one of Variety’s “Top 10 Actors to Watch” Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men: First Class), David Thewlis (War Horse, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and Vanessa Kirby (About Time). Featuring cinematography from Seamus Deasy (Neverland, When the Sky Falls) and set design by Academy Award nominee Anthony Pratt (The Phantom of the Opera,...
The film, which Boorman has announced will be his last, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2014 and was acquired after making its North American debut during Film Comment’s special screening at the 52nd New York Film Festival earlier this month.
Queen And Country introduces Callum Turner (Ripper Street, Borgias) to the big screen and also stars one of Variety’s “Top 10 Actors to Watch” Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men: First Class), David Thewlis (War Horse, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and Vanessa Kirby (About Time). Featuring cinematography from Seamus Deasy (Neverland, When the Sky Falls) and set design by Academy Award nominee Anthony Pratt (The Phantom of the Opera,...
- 10/29/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The ninth annual Irish Film & Television Awards took place tonight at a Gala Awards Ceremony held at the Convention Centre Dublin.
In the field of film 'The Guard' was the big winner of the night receiving the Ifta for Best Film, with writer/director John Michael McDonagh named Best Director, Best Screenwriter and the Irish Film Board Rising Star for his feature directorial debut. Fionnula Flannagan who was honoured with a lifetime achievement award also won best supporting actress for her part in 'The Guard'.
Michael Fassbender picked up best actor for 'Shame' while Saoirse Ronan picked up best actress for her role in 'Hanna.' Ryan Gosling picked up the best international actor for 'Drive,' Chris O'Dowd picked up best supporting actor for 'Bridesmaids', and Glenn Close picked up best international actress for 'Albert Nobbs.'
'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy...
In the field of film 'The Guard' was the big winner of the night receiving the Ifta for Best Film, with writer/director John Michael McDonagh named Best Director, Best Screenwriter and the Irish Film Board Rising Star for his feature directorial debut. Fionnula Flannagan who was honoured with a lifetime achievement award also won best supporting actress for her part in 'The Guard'.
Michael Fassbender picked up best actor for 'Shame' while Saoirse Ronan picked up best actress for her role in 'Hanna.' Ryan Gosling picked up the best international actor for 'Drive,' Chris O'Dowd picked up best supporting actor for 'Bridesmaids', and Glenn Close picked up best international actress for 'Albert Nobbs.'
'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy...
- 2/11/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (Flicks News)
- FlicksNews.net
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard The Guard, Glenn Close, Ryan Gosling Win: Irish Film Awards 2012 Film Categories Best Film Albert Nobbs, Alan Moloney, Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn, Glenn Close Charlie Casanova, Terry McMahon Stella Days, Jackie Larkin, Leslie McKimm * The Guard, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Chris Cark, Flora Fernandez Marengo Best Director Rebecca Daly, The Other Side of Sleep * John Michael McDonagh, The Guard Terry McMahon, Charlie Casanova Thaddeus O'Sullivan, Stella Days Best Screenplay John Banville, Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs * John Michael McDonagh, The Guard Terry McMahon, Charlie Casanova Antoine O'Flaherta, Stella Days Best Actor * Michael Fassbender, Shame Brendan Gleeson, The Guard Ciarán Hinds, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Martin Sheen, Stella Days Best Actress Aoife Duffin, Behold the Lamb Antonia Campbell Hughes, The Other Side of Sleep Marcella Plunkett, Stella Days * Saoirse Ronan, Hanna Best Supporting Actor Liam Cunningham, The Guard Brendan Gleeson, Albert Nobbs Ciarán Hinds, The Debt * Chris O'Dowd,...
- 2/11/2012
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Albert Nobbs and the other nominations for the 2012 Irish Film and Television Academy Awards have been announced. The 9th Annual Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) “sole aim is to celebrate Ireland’s notably talented film and television community. The ceremony is considered to be one of Ireland’s most prestigious awards event, and can be viewed as the Irish equivalent to the American Oscars.” The awards ceremony will be held on February 11, 2012 at the Convention Centre Dublin (Ccd).
The full listing of the 2012 Irish Film and Television Awards is below.
Film Categories
Best Film
Albert Nobbs – Alan Moloney, Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn and Glenn Close (Parallel Film & TV Productions)
Charlie Casanova – Terry McMahon (Source Productions)
Stella Days – Jackie Larkin & Leslie McKimm (Newgrange Pictures)
The Guard – Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Chris Larke, Flore Fernandez Marengo(Element Pictures)
Director Film
Rebecca Daly – The Other Side of Sleep (Fastnet Films)
John Michael McDonagh...
The full listing of the 2012 Irish Film and Television Awards is below.
Film Categories
Best Film
Albert Nobbs – Alan Moloney, Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn and Glenn Close (Parallel Film & TV Productions)
Charlie Casanova – Terry McMahon (Source Productions)
Stella Days – Jackie Larkin & Leslie McKimm (Newgrange Pictures)
The Guard – Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Chris Larke, Flore Fernandez Marengo(Element Pictures)
Director Film
Rebecca Daly – The Other Side of Sleep (Fastnet Films)
John Michael McDonagh...
- 1/11/2012
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
Ian Hart is outstanding in A Boy Called Dad, but the darkly comic Perrier's Bounty is hamstrung by its awful title, writes Mark Kermode
Nine years ago, writer Julie Rutterford and director Brian Percival made the affecting short film About a Girl (think Fish Tank meets The Fast Show with a tragic sting in the tale), which went on to win several prestigious awards including a best short Bafta. Having featured on the excellent Cinema 16 collection, About a Girl now resurfaces as one of the DVD extras accompanying Percival and Rutterford's long-awaited first feature, A Boy Called Dad (2009, Kaleidoscope, 15). Talented and confident newcomer Kyle Ward stars as the eponymous baby-father Robbie, an untrammelled 14-year-old whose own errant father Joe has yet to learn the true responsibilities of adulthood. As Joe, Ian Hart brings an effortless sense of conviction to the screen; few actors can convey such conflicted character traits (strength and weakness,...
Nine years ago, writer Julie Rutterford and director Brian Percival made the affecting short film About a Girl (think Fish Tank meets The Fast Show with a tragic sting in the tale), which went on to win several prestigious awards including a best short Bafta. Having featured on the excellent Cinema 16 collection, About a Girl now resurfaces as one of the DVD extras accompanying Percival and Rutterford's long-awaited first feature, A Boy Called Dad (2009, Kaleidoscope, 15). Talented and confident newcomer Kyle Ward stars as the eponymous baby-father Robbie, an untrammelled 14-year-old whose own errant father Joe has yet to learn the true responsibilities of adulthood. As Joe, Ian Hart brings an effortless sense of conviction to the screen; few actors can convey such conflicted character traits (strength and weakness,...
- 8/14/2010
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
Perrier's Bounty is a strange one. It doesn't seem fair it's largely been ignored, yet at the same time it's a little too obvious why. Director Ian Fitzgibbon (A Film with Me in It) hits all the right beats with the story of a small-time Dublin lowlife, his frantic attempts to pay off a minor debt to a vicious local gang boss and the escalating chaos that follows, yet an air of over-familiarity keeps the obvious talent of all those involved from impressing as much as it ought to have done.
Said lowlife is Michael (Cillian Murphy, Inception, Batman Begins, 28 Days Later) who, as the film begins, has only hours remaining before his debt to gangster Perrier (Brendan Gleeson, In Bruges) falls due. Michael's half-hearted efforts to scrape together enough cash don't look to bear fruit in time and when Perrier's henchmen corner him, an unexpected slip of the trigger...
Said lowlife is Michael (Cillian Murphy, Inception, Batman Begins, 28 Days Later) who, as the film begins, has only hours remaining before his debt to gangster Perrier (Brendan Gleeson, In Bruges) falls due. Michael's half-hearted efforts to scrape together enough cash don't look to bear fruit in time and when Perrier's henchmen corner him, an unexpected slip of the trigger...
- 7/16/2010
- Screen Anarchy
The 10th annual Belfast Film Festival will open with the gala Irish premiere screening of Danis Tanovic's 'Triage'. This year's festival will feature screenings of Irish and World cinema works, workshops, an acting masterclass with 'Sliding Doors' star John Lynch, short films and documentaries. The event will run from April 15th to 30th. 'Triage', the festival's opening film, tells the story of the impact of post-traumatic stress syndrome on a war photographer, played by Ifta winning actor Colin Farrell (Ondine) who returns to Ireland to be faced with the fact that his best friend has failed to come home. It was produced by Alan Moloney (Intermission), Cedomir Kolar (Heaven) and Mark Baschet (No Man's Land) and the director of photography for the film was Seamus Deasy (The General).
- 3/11/2010
- IFTN
Danis Tanovic's 'Triage' will open this year's Rome International Film Festival (Riff) on October 15. The film's stars Colin Farrell and Paz Vega are expected to attend the opening night gala. Having recently received its world premiere screening at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada, this will be the film's European premiere. 'Triage' tells the story of the impact of post-traumatic stress syndrome on a war photographer who returns to Ireland to be hit with the fact that his best friend has failed to come home. It was produced by Alan Moloney, Cedomir Kolar and Mark Baschet and the director of photography for the film was Seamus Deasy. Many of the film's scenes were shot in and around Dublin...
- 9/28/2009
- IFTN
Edinburgh International Film Festival
EDINBURGH — The bodies keep piling up and so do the laughs in Irish director Ian Fitzgibbon’s clever and very funny black farce “A Film With Me In It.” With an attitude towards sudden death as droll as in the best Ealing Studios comedies, the film lampoons the fevered imagination of screenwriters in its tale of two would-be filmmakers who must deal with one calamity after another in the confines of a basement apartment.
Featuring standout comic performances by Mark Doherty, who wrote the script, and Dylan Moran, the picture’s bracingly dark sense of humor and adherence to its own perverse logic will please audiences that enjoyed such comedies as “Withnail and I” and “A Fish Called Wanda.”
Doherty plays Mark, a sad-sack actor whose chance of landing even the bit part of “Onlooker” in his latest audition is remote. Moran is his best friend Pierce, a wastrel who spends his time at the pub and his money on the horses as he dreams up hackneyed screenplays.
Mark lives with his quadriplegic brother David David O’Doherty), pretty girlfriend Sally (Amy Huberman) and her indolent pet dog Jersey. Their place is filled with broken things such as window sashes and lighting fixtures that landlord Jack (Kevin Allen) refuses to fix until the rent is paid.
Sally storms out after discovering that Mark hasn’t paid the rent in three months. He senses things may get worse when a shelving unit collapses and kills her dog. Then when a heavy chandelier crashes down from the ceiling with even more unpleasant results, he’s sure of it.
Doherty’s script is sly and increasingly hilarious as nitwits Mark and Pierce deal with an escalating number of dead people and conspire to dream up madly unreasonable explanations they think might sound plausible to the police.
Moran gets the slightly fractured speech borne of an alcohol soaked brain exactly right while Doherty captures Marks bewilderment perfectly. Director Fitzgibbon hits all the right notes with comic finesse as the film heads towards its pleasingly delirious conclusion.
Production: Parallel Films in association with the Irish Film Board. Cast: Dylan Moran, Mark Doherty, Amy Huberman, Aisling O’Sullivan, Kevin Allen, David O’Doherty. Director: Ian Fitzgibbon. Screenwriter: Mark Doherty. Producers: Alan Moloney, Susan Mullen. Executive Producer: Mary Callery. Director of Photography: Seamus Deasy. Production Designer: Eleanor Wood. Music: Denis Woods. Costume Designer: Maeve Paterson. Editor: Tony Cranstoun. Sales Agent: Cinetic Media. No MPAA rating, 88 minutes.
EDINBURGH — The bodies keep piling up and so do the laughs in Irish director Ian Fitzgibbon’s clever and very funny black farce “A Film With Me In It.” With an attitude towards sudden death as droll as in the best Ealing Studios comedies, the film lampoons the fevered imagination of screenwriters in its tale of two would-be filmmakers who must deal with one calamity after another in the confines of a basement apartment.
Featuring standout comic performances by Mark Doherty, who wrote the script, and Dylan Moran, the picture’s bracingly dark sense of humor and adherence to its own perverse logic will please audiences that enjoyed such comedies as “Withnail and I” and “A Fish Called Wanda.”
Doherty plays Mark, a sad-sack actor whose chance of landing even the bit part of “Onlooker” in his latest audition is remote. Moran is his best friend Pierce, a wastrel who spends his time at the pub and his money on the horses as he dreams up hackneyed screenplays.
Mark lives with his quadriplegic brother David David O’Doherty), pretty girlfriend Sally (Amy Huberman) and her indolent pet dog Jersey. Their place is filled with broken things such as window sashes and lighting fixtures that landlord Jack (Kevin Allen) refuses to fix until the rent is paid.
Sally storms out after discovering that Mark hasn’t paid the rent in three months. He senses things may get worse when a shelving unit collapses and kills her dog. Then when a heavy chandelier crashes down from the ceiling with even more unpleasant results, he’s sure of it.
Doherty’s script is sly and increasingly hilarious as nitwits Mark and Pierce deal with an escalating number of dead people and conspire to dream up madly unreasonable explanations they think might sound plausible to the police.
Moran gets the slightly fractured speech borne of an alcohol soaked brain exactly right while Doherty captures Marks bewilderment perfectly. Director Fitzgibbon hits all the right notes with comic finesse as the film heads towards its pleasingly delirious conclusion.
Production: Parallel Films in association with the Irish Film Board. Cast: Dylan Moran, Mark Doherty, Amy Huberman, Aisling O’Sullivan, Kevin Allen, David O’Doherty. Director: Ian Fitzgibbon. Screenwriter: Mark Doherty. Producers: Alan Moloney, Susan Mullen. Executive Producer: Mary Callery. Director of Photography: Seamus Deasy. Production Designer: Eleanor Wood. Music: Denis Woods. Costume Designer: Maeve Paterson. Editor: Tony Cranstoun. Sales Agent: Cinetic Media. No MPAA rating, 88 minutes.
- 6/26/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
LONDON -- "When the Sky Falls" is based on the events leading up to the 1996 murder of crime journalist Veronica Guerin in Dublin, Ireland. As directed by John MacKenzie (who made the excellent British crime film "The Long Good Friday"), the film is stylish and gritty and features fine central performances. While it should win critical plaudits, "Sky", which at times feels a bit like a movie of the week, isn't likely to attract big audiences.
Screenwriters Michael Sheridan, Ronan Gallagher and Colum McCann have put together an intelligent, well-constructed and moving script. Before her death, Guerin collaborated with Sheridan on an early draft of a screenplay that focused on her crusade against Dublin gangsters and the various attacks against her.
The film tells the story of fictional Sunday Globe journalist Sinead Hamilton (wonderfully played by Joan Allen), whose writings about the Dublin gangs cause an increase in her newspaper's circulation along with the violent attention of the gangsters. Her investigations also bring her into close contact with the Irish Republican Army -- which denounces the gangs' drug dealing -- and the police, who struggle to stop the mobsters.
But her efforts push gang boss Dave Hackett (Gerard Flynn) to take the ultimate step. On her way home from a court appearance, she is shot dead. Ironically, her death finally forces attention to Ireland's criminal laws, so drug dealers can be identified and apprehended and their assets seized.
In this role, Allen is the personification of steely dignity, and she does a good job with a Dublin accent. She achieves a fine balance between crusading journalist and attentive mother.
Her performance is aided by Patrick Bergin's turn as grumpy maverick cop Sgt. Mackey, though he is lumbered with the cliched dim assistant in the form of Jason Barry's Dempsey. Bergin and Allen's scenes together work particularly well. And the ever-excellent Pete Postlethwaite makes a brief but fine appearance as crime boss Martin Shaughnessy, who is knocked off early in the film.
MacKenzie handles action sequences extremely well -- particularly a car chase through the city estates -- and pushes the story with skill and ease. Technical credits are all fine, especially Mark Geraghty's production design, and DP Seamus Deasy gives the film an atmospheric hue.
WHEN THE SKY FALLS
Sky Pictures
In association with Irish Screen, the Irish Film Board and Redeemable Features
Producers: Nigel Warren-Green,
Michael Wearing
Director: John MacKenzie
Executive producers: Kevin Menton,
Peter Newman, Marie Louise Queally
Screenwriters: Michael Sheridan,
Ronan Gallagher, Colum McCann
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Production designer: Mark Geraghty
Music: Pol Brennan
Costume designer: Lorna Marie Mugan
Editor: Graham Walker
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sinead Hamilton: Joan Allen
Mackey: Patrick Bergin
Mickey O'Fagan: Jimmy Smallhorne
John "The Runner" Cosgrove: Liam Cunningham
Tom Hamilton: Kevin McNally
Martin Shaughnessy: Pete Postlethwaite
Dempsey: Jason Barry
Jimmy Keaveney: Des McAleer
Dave Hackett: Gerard Flynn
Running time - 107 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Screenwriters Michael Sheridan, Ronan Gallagher and Colum McCann have put together an intelligent, well-constructed and moving script. Before her death, Guerin collaborated with Sheridan on an early draft of a screenplay that focused on her crusade against Dublin gangsters and the various attacks against her.
The film tells the story of fictional Sunday Globe journalist Sinead Hamilton (wonderfully played by Joan Allen), whose writings about the Dublin gangs cause an increase in her newspaper's circulation along with the violent attention of the gangsters. Her investigations also bring her into close contact with the Irish Republican Army -- which denounces the gangs' drug dealing -- and the police, who struggle to stop the mobsters.
But her efforts push gang boss Dave Hackett (Gerard Flynn) to take the ultimate step. On her way home from a court appearance, she is shot dead. Ironically, her death finally forces attention to Ireland's criminal laws, so drug dealers can be identified and apprehended and their assets seized.
In this role, Allen is the personification of steely dignity, and she does a good job with a Dublin accent. She achieves a fine balance between crusading journalist and attentive mother.
Her performance is aided by Patrick Bergin's turn as grumpy maverick cop Sgt. Mackey, though he is lumbered with the cliched dim assistant in the form of Jason Barry's Dempsey. Bergin and Allen's scenes together work particularly well. And the ever-excellent Pete Postlethwaite makes a brief but fine appearance as crime boss Martin Shaughnessy, who is knocked off early in the film.
MacKenzie handles action sequences extremely well -- particularly a car chase through the city estates -- and pushes the story with skill and ease. Technical credits are all fine, especially Mark Geraghty's production design, and DP Seamus Deasy gives the film an atmospheric hue.
WHEN THE SKY FALLS
Sky Pictures
In association with Irish Screen, the Irish Film Board and Redeemable Features
Producers: Nigel Warren-Green,
Michael Wearing
Director: John MacKenzie
Executive producers: Kevin Menton,
Peter Newman, Marie Louise Queally
Screenwriters: Michael Sheridan,
Ronan Gallagher, Colum McCann
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Production designer: Mark Geraghty
Music: Pol Brennan
Costume designer: Lorna Marie Mugan
Editor: Graham Walker
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sinead Hamilton: Joan Allen
Mackey: Patrick Bergin
Mickey O'Fagan: Jimmy Smallhorne
John "The Runner" Cosgrove: Liam Cunningham
Tom Hamilton: Kevin McNally
Martin Shaughnessy: Pete Postlethwaite
Dempsey: Jason Barry
Jimmy Keaveney: Des McAleer
Dave Hackett: Gerard Flynn
Running time - 107 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 7/20/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When you think of train movies from the British Isles, you think of "Brief Encounter" and those sort of aching love stories they don't make any more. Well, they do.
Irish-made "Night Train" brims with all those British quandaries -- repression, isolation, insecurity -- and then wonderfully spills over into a satisfying if bittersweet resolution.
A sold-out hit at the Toronto International Film Festival, this John Hurt-Brenda Blethyn starrer should similarly nourish the mature hearts of art house audiences in the United States.
In Brit-speak, Mr. Poole (Hurt) is more than a bit of a "chancer." He's done time for embezzlement, and his life, by his own admission, has "no core." No family, no friends, no home: The only people who care for him are the sadistic thugs he formerly conned for. They want to know where the money is.
Upon his release from prison, Poole seeks sanctuary in the classified section, finding yet another solitary room as a lodger. Right off, his landlady, Mrs. Mooney (Pauline Flanagan), a reproving biddy who never leaves the house, categorizes him as trouble. But then again, no one measures up positively to her sour and demanding criteria -- particularly anyone who gets near her daughter, Alice (Blethyn). A middle-aged, unmarried woman who toils away as a legal secretary, Alice has no life other than her highbrow reading (Waugh, Greene, Austen).
While Alice escapes the doldrums of her life through literature, Poole assuages his loneliness by playing with his extensive model train set. He fusses with it in his tiny, second-story room, which tends to make Mrs. Mooney even more bats.
The cantankerous old woman mostly resents the friendship that has developed between Poole and her daughter. That Alice has taken to visiting Poole's room and finds the same sort of cathartic escape in his train, as it travels through Europe to the Orient, infuriates the old woman. As Poole and Alice watch the train speed from Paris through the Alps and on to Asia, both are invigorated by the potential of travel, as well as sobered by their own personal life regrets.
This burgeoning friendship and love between the spinster secretary and the ex-con is developed with spry grace by screenwriter Aodhan Madden and framed with affectionate bounce by director John Lynch. "Night Train" is packed throughout with the sort of tiny, grand moments that one has almost forgotten once existed in the movies. A large part of its modest grandeur is owing to the spare yet radiant lead performances of Hurt and Blethyn.
With his weathered visage and downtrodden manner, Hurt embodies the shrunken form of a man who has been weighted down by life. Most eloquently, he taps into the tiny but powerful flicker of life still within Poole. Hurt shows that there is, indeed, a core to this man -- and when Poole discovers that fact, it is perhaps the film's most glorious moment.
Blethyn's exquisitely layered performance as the repressed Alice is also superbly modulated. She shows us that there is an uncommon spark of adventure and a wellspring of love beneath Alice's drab exterior. Blethyn's accomplished skill in revealing her character's blossoming is truly remarkable.
A constant delight is Flanagan's performance as the sour Mrs. Mooney. Her staunch and ornery delivery truly makes one shudder.
Technical contributions are, in the character of the movie, understated and therefore most powerful. Cinematographer Seamus Deasy's evocative use of high-shot camera angles clue us to both the inner dynamics of the character and the potential of the world outside.
NIGHT TRAIN
Alternative Cinema Co.
A J&M Entertainment production
Producer: Tristan Lynch
Director: John Lynch
Screenwriter: Aodhan Madden
Co-producer: Derek Ryan
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Editor: Pat Duffner
Costume designer: Maeve Paterson
Production designer: Alan Farquharson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Poole: John Hurt
Alice Mooney: Brenda Blethyn
Mrs. Mooney: Pauline Flanagan
Winnie: Rynagh O'Grady
Walter: Peter Caffrey
Blake: Paul Roe
Billy: Lorcan Cranitch
Liz: Cathy White
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Irish-made "Night Train" brims with all those British quandaries -- repression, isolation, insecurity -- and then wonderfully spills over into a satisfying if bittersweet resolution.
A sold-out hit at the Toronto International Film Festival, this John Hurt-Brenda Blethyn starrer should similarly nourish the mature hearts of art house audiences in the United States.
In Brit-speak, Mr. Poole (Hurt) is more than a bit of a "chancer." He's done time for embezzlement, and his life, by his own admission, has "no core." No family, no friends, no home: The only people who care for him are the sadistic thugs he formerly conned for. They want to know where the money is.
Upon his release from prison, Poole seeks sanctuary in the classified section, finding yet another solitary room as a lodger. Right off, his landlady, Mrs. Mooney (Pauline Flanagan), a reproving biddy who never leaves the house, categorizes him as trouble. But then again, no one measures up positively to her sour and demanding criteria -- particularly anyone who gets near her daughter, Alice (Blethyn). A middle-aged, unmarried woman who toils away as a legal secretary, Alice has no life other than her highbrow reading (Waugh, Greene, Austen).
While Alice escapes the doldrums of her life through literature, Poole assuages his loneliness by playing with his extensive model train set. He fusses with it in his tiny, second-story room, which tends to make Mrs. Mooney even more bats.
The cantankerous old woman mostly resents the friendship that has developed between Poole and her daughter. That Alice has taken to visiting Poole's room and finds the same sort of cathartic escape in his train, as it travels through Europe to the Orient, infuriates the old woman. As Poole and Alice watch the train speed from Paris through the Alps and on to Asia, both are invigorated by the potential of travel, as well as sobered by their own personal life regrets.
This burgeoning friendship and love between the spinster secretary and the ex-con is developed with spry grace by screenwriter Aodhan Madden and framed with affectionate bounce by director John Lynch. "Night Train" is packed throughout with the sort of tiny, grand moments that one has almost forgotten once existed in the movies. A large part of its modest grandeur is owing to the spare yet radiant lead performances of Hurt and Blethyn.
With his weathered visage and downtrodden manner, Hurt embodies the shrunken form of a man who has been weighted down by life. Most eloquently, he taps into the tiny but powerful flicker of life still within Poole. Hurt shows that there is, indeed, a core to this man -- and when Poole discovers that fact, it is perhaps the film's most glorious moment.
Blethyn's exquisitely layered performance as the repressed Alice is also superbly modulated. She shows us that there is an uncommon spark of adventure and a wellspring of love beneath Alice's drab exterior. Blethyn's accomplished skill in revealing her character's blossoming is truly remarkable.
A constant delight is Flanagan's performance as the sour Mrs. Mooney. Her staunch and ornery delivery truly makes one shudder.
Technical contributions are, in the character of the movie, understated and therefore most powerful. Cinematographer Seamus Deasy's evocative use of high-shot camera angles clue us to both the inner dynamics of the character and the potential of the world outside.
NIGHT TRAIN
Alternative Cinema Co.
A J&M Entertainment production
Producer: Tristan Lynch
Director: John Lynch
Screenwriter: Aodhan Madden
Co-producer: Derek Ryan
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Editor: Pat Duffner
Costume designer: Maeve Paterson
Production designer: Alan Farquharson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Poole: John Hurt
Alice Mooney: Brenda Blethyn
Mrs. Mooney: Pauline Flanagan
Winnie: Rynagh O'Grady
Walter: Peter Caffrey
Blake: Paul Roe
Billy: Lorcan Cranitch
Liz: Cathy White
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/28/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"The General" is the affectionate moniker for the ringleader of a small-time gang of second-story men and hoods in one of Dublin, Ireland's worst slums. This neo-"Robin Hood" yarn from writer-director John Boorman is a cheeky portrait of a neighborhood hero.
It will have admirers in Great Britain, surely, as well as in blighted economic regions where its wrong-side-of-the-tracks sensibility will appeal. Despite its intermittent comedy and frisky narrative, however, "The General" is unlikely to heist much of anything at the U.S. boxoffice.
One of the more entertaining competition films, "The General" brims with quirky humor and lands some anti-establishment darts. The story marches best when on a light, comic course and founders when pretending to offer social insight or political commentary.
In general, "The General" is lightweight amusement few will likely confuse with solid sociology.
Brendan Gleeson stars as Martin Cahill, a teddy bear of a man who takes special pride in making fools of the police. Martin has enjoyed this since his boyhood, when he perfected his petty theft skills, later maturing to high-level jewelry store break-ins.
A burly, good-humored chap, Martin possesses superb leadership qualities. He addresses his ranks much like a military leader but, fittingly, his parade ground is a pool hall. His not-so-merry men are a hardscrabble lot unqualified to be much of anything but unskilled criminals. Better than Robin Hood, Martin has two merry maidens, bedding down not only with his wife Maria Doyle Kennedy) but also with his wife's comely sister (Angeline Ball).
Boorman shows a cruel, callous side to Martin, but his shortcomings are glossed over with the usual excuses -- poor childhood, no father figure. That Martin is shrewd enough to manipulate the law to jibe with his disadvantages further clues us to his darker innards. Still, "The General" is clever fun, especially in its Keystone Kops-like escapades as Martin duels with an intrepid police inspector (Jon Voight).
Shot in black and white, the film's keen color gradations make strong thematic points, a credit to cinematographer Seamus Deasy's psychologically sharp eye. Other technical contributions are high-ranking, particularly composer Richie Buckley's smudgy, withering sounds and editor Ron Davis' creative transitions.
Medals of honor to all the players, particularly Gleeson for his appealingly swarthy performance as the charismatic criminal and Voight for his wonderfully weary portrayal of the patient policeman. Both Kennedy and Ball conjure up the conflicted emotions of women who must share a man.
THE GENERAL
Merlin Films presents
a film by John Boorman
CREDITS:
Producer-screenwriter-director:John Boorman
Executive producer:Kieran Corrigan
Director of photography:Seamus Deasy
Production designer:Derek Wallace
Music:Richie Buckley
Editor:Ron Davis
Costume designer:Maeve Paterson
Casting director:Jina Jay
CAST:
Martin Cahill:Brendan Gleeson
Noel Curley:Adrian Dunbar
Gary:Sean McGinley
Frances:Maria Doyle Kennedy
Tina:Angeline Ball
Inspector Ned Kenny:Jon Voight
Jimmy:Eanna McLiam
Running Time: 125 minutes...
It will have admirers in Great Britain, surely, as well as in blighted economic regions where its wrong-side-of-the-tracks sensibility will appeal. Despite its intermittent comedy and frisky narrative, however, "The General" is unlikely to heist much of anything at the U.S. boxoffice.
One of the more entertaining competition films, "The General" brims with quirky humor and lands some anti-establishment darts. The story marches best when on a light, comic course and founders when pretending to offer social insight or political commentary.
In general, "The General" is lightweight amusement few will likely confuse with solid sociology.
Brendan Gleeson stars as Martin Cahill, a teddy bear of a man who takes special pride in making fools of the police. Martin has enjoyed this since his boyhood, when he perfected his petty theft skills, later maturing to high-level jewelry store break-ins.
A burly, good-humored chap, Martin possesses superb leadership qualities. He addresses his ranks much like a military leader but, fittingly, his parade ground is a pool hall. His not-so-merry men are a hardscrabble lot unqualified to be much of anything but unskilled criminals. Better than Robin Hood, Martin has two merry maidens, bedding down not only with his wife Maria Doyle Kennedy) but also with his wife's comely sister (Angeline Ball).
Boorman shows a cruel, callous side to Martin, but his shortcomings are glossed over with the usual excuses -- poor childhood, no father figure. That Martin is shrewd enough to manipulate the law to jibe with his disadvantages further clues us to his darker innards. Still, "The General" is clever fun, especially in its Keystone Kops-like escapades as Martin duels with an intrepid police inspector (Jon Voight).
Shot in black and white, the film's keen color gradations make strong thematic points, a credit to cinematographer Seamus Deasy's psychologically sharp eye. Other technical contributions are high-ranking, particularly composer Richie Buckley's smudgy, withering sounds and editor Ron Davis' creative transitions.
Medals of honor to all the players, particularly Gleeson for his appealingly swarthy performance as the charismatic criminal and Voight for his wonderfully weary portrayal of the patient policeman. Both Kennedy and Ball conjure up the conflicted emotions of women who must share a man.
THE GENERAL
Merlin Films presents
a film by John Boorman
CREDITS:
Producer-screenwriter-director:John Boorman
Executive producer:Kieran Corrigan
Director of photography:Seamus Deasy
Production designer:Derek Wallace
Music:Richie Buckley
Editor:Ron Davis
Costume designer:Maeve Paterson
Casting director:Jina Jay
CAST:
Martin Cahill:Brendan Gleeson
Noel Curley:Adrian Dunbar
Gary:Sean McGinley
Frances:Maria Doyle Kennedy
Tina:Angeline Ball
Inspector Ned Kenny:Jon Voight
Jimmy:Eanna McLiam
Running Time: 125 minutes...
- 5/20/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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