Evelyn Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES
The story of a father's love that changed a nation
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 that his is an untenable situation. The Catholic Church and the Irish courts decide to put the Doyle children into Church-run orphanages. Although a sympathetic judge assures Desmond that when his financial situation reverses, he will be able to get his children back; money is hard to come by. During that time, Evelyn and her brothers suffer the abuses of living in orphanages while Desmond struggles to secure finances. Now he must battle the courts to get his children back.
| Sophie Vavasseur | Evelyn Doyle |
| Niall Beagan | Dermot Doyle |
| Hugh McDonagh | Maurice Doyle |
| Pierce Brosnan | Desmond Doyle |
| Mairead Devlin | Charlotte Doyle |
| Frank Kelly | Henry Doyle |
| Claire Mullan | Mrs. Daisley |
| Alvaro Lucchesi | Inspector Logan |
| Garrett Keogh | District Judge |
| Daithi O'Suilleabhain | Brother Eustace |
| Andrea Irvine | Sister Brigid |
| Marian Quinn | Sister Theresa |
| Karen Ardiff | Sister Felicity |
| Julianna Margulies | Bernadette Beattie |
| Bosco Hogan | Father O'Malley |
| Bruce Beresford |
7.00 out of 10 (1976 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Doyle...Desmond Doyle
posted on 07 Jun 2009They are generally from Disney or from many other studios now, and they contain a plot similar to the animated movies but are acted in live flesh and have fundamentals in people's feelings. They are also movies that have the best intentions and are directed to the heart.MGM brings "Evelyn" and along with it brings Pierce Brosnan in an unlikely usual but pleasant role. I could only think of him saying: "I'm Bond…James Bond", and now he comes with this Irish accent with doesn't suit him right (and he is Irish!); but we forgive him. In fact, we forgive lots of things in movies like this. Brosnan ends up achieving a moving and dedicated performance, making us forget about his old spy roles. He plays Desmond Doyle, a father abandoned by his wife that has to leave their children to authorities due to a lack of money. Then, with strength and courage plus the help of some, they arrive to a trial…This is based in a true story.These characters, the ones I like to call "helpers"; because they stay with the hero from the start until the end. They also carry on with specific plot obligations. Alan Bates plays the old fox Tom Connolly, who wants to take his glory days back, and he puts a lot of enthusiasm to the movie. Brian McGrath's Hugh Canning, Connolly's friend and newsman, who informs the results of the trials in the most cheerful way. Nick Barron, the lawyer who was first against, but then helped more than any other, played by Aidan Quinn with an elegant smile and charm. Stephen Rea shows to be in top form with his honest but shy lawyer Michael Beattie. And his sister, Bernadette Beattie, puts some love again in Desmond's life and is played by Julianna Margulies with innocence and wisdom. It is a wonderful showcase of performances; director Bruce Beresford seems to know them all and when everybody looks comfortable… Still, from all these characters the one who highlights the most is Evelyn (Sophie Vavasseur), one of Desmond's children. I can clearly see the plot's interest in her, because of thefilm's title, but even when the bond between her and her father is strong, she shouldn't have been the plot's center; because it obligates us to give an importance to her that she doesn't probably have. There other two sons (I won't even mention their names because they don't even seem to be there) and Desmond's father Henry (a marvelous Frank Kelly), but we mostly see Evelyn in church with the nuns and no other relevant subplot whatsoever. However, young actress Vavasseur is a revelation and shows gifts of an immense talent; and that's a positive thing for pieces of this type.We get the usual; including a script by Paul Pender full of phrases, as I said, "directed to the heart", that unite to that touching music and that captivating image in this movie, where everything is correct, but it ultimately depends of us…If we let it in or not.
Wonderful and entertaining!
posted on 06 Apr 2009After watching a lot of movies this year, this was a breath of fresh air and different than everything else.Summary: Desmond Doyle's life can't seem to get any worse. It's 1953, Ireland, he's an out of work painter with 3 kids to support and his wife runs off with a rich Englishman to Australia leaving Desmond with more problems when his children are taken away from him and put into foster care at boarding schools run by priests and nuns. With the help of his father, Desmond starts making petty cash and the barkeeper Bernadette puts him in touch with her brother, a lawyer, but realizes he cannot get his kids back without having his wife's signature so he has to fight against the constitution of Irish law in order to gain custody of his children with the help of an American lawyer Nick Barron and a former rugby player/family law attorney and now a drunk Tom Connolly.The movie had lots of good scenes with Pierce Brosnan playing the loving and devoted father, who tries to kidnap his own daughter Evelyn from the boarding school. Nick Barron was played by Aidan Quinn. Evelyn was played by Sophie Vavasseur and she seems to be a young rising star with this wonderful portrayal of Evelyn. Aidan, Julianna Margulies (from E.R.) and Pierce really put in the effort to make this movie worth watching.I rate this 10/10, I was going to give it a 9/10, i got annoyed with Pierce's accent, but he achieved the extra point because he looks great in it!
A lovely gem of a film
posted on 27 Feb 2009Evelyn is a film that could have been made in the 50's by John Ford or the 40's by Frank Capra. The sense of time and place is remarkably palpable. Director Bruce Beresford, Cinematographer Andre Fleuren, composer and crew truly bring 1950's Dublin alive.A deft touch by the director and a wonderfully talented cast keep the film from sliding into the easy cloying sentiment that's a danger in many David/Goliath and separated parent/child stories. There are only a couple of missteps of gilding the lily, surging music where the acting alone was more than enough to convey the true emotion (Brosnan's powerful and touching courtroom testimony) and the introduction of convenient "Angel Rays" (although explainable by being a manifestation of a child's need for comfort and belief more than truly the hand of a helpful angel). But overall, drama and emotion is consistently and effectively balanced with humor and a wry intelligence.At the films core is a marvelous subtle layered performance by Pierce Brosnan that grounds Evelyn giving the film its emotional resonance and heart. His Doyle is a gritty, edgy, flawed everyman who manages to always maintain his innate dignity and humanity because even his more buffoonish acts are part and parcel of his passion and determination to get back the children he so evidently loves. He's an easy man to empathize with and root for, and it doesn't hurt that Brosnan's natural charm always keep the character vital and accessible without soft pedaling his edges or flaws. You can easily understand why friends, neighbors and community rally around to help him.And there is excellent support in the form of a dry clipped hound dog Stephen Rea (as Doyle's solicitor), warm droll Frank Kelly (as Doyle's father), scene stealing irascible Alan Bates (his comical "However" speech is brilliant), earthy glowing smart Julianna Margulies (Bernadette, Doyle's love interest), and a clear eyed firm chinned tough but trusting Sophie Vavasseur (the titular Evelyn) who's touching tender loving relationship with Doyle and wonderful chemistry with Brosnan is the heart of the film. It's a lovely gem.
An Anti-"Angela's Ashes"?
posted on 01 Dec 2008Those of us who endured the gruelling "Angela's Ashes" a few years back probably came away with the impression that living in 1950s Ireland was like living in hell, or maybe slightly worse. We were treated to the dysfunctional family to end all: the father was a mean drunk, the mother was nuts, the kids were brats, their relatives were all vicious (or nuts), they were poorer than dirt, they lived under the heel of a Stalinist Catholic Church, and it NEVER STOPPED RAINING. I left the cinema wondering not why so many Irish had left their country, but why any had stayed.Now along comes "Evelyn" which also is about poor people in 1950s Ireland, but this seems to be the Hallmark greeting card version. The father (played by Pierce Brosnan using, I imagine, his native accent) does drink, but he's not at all mean about it, his kids are angelic and the mother who abandons them only gets about five minutes of screen time and is soon forgotten. There are relatives who may not like one another but are united in their love for the kids (an enjoyable scene has Evelyn, the daughter, running back and forth conveying messages between two of them). There are a lot of well-meaning friends and acquaintances. They live in a nice home and don't seem to be starving or barefoot. It almost seems no big deal when the mother leaves; if anything, one supposes what little money they have will go further, with one fewer mouth to feed (there's an obligatory scene with Brosnan versus a boiling pot because, of course, all men are morons in the kitchen).So it seems a little odd when government minions step in and announce that nice Mr. Doyle whose wife left him can't keep his kids any more. Now I know this is based on a true story and I know from other sources there was indeed a vast orphanage gulag (complete with slave labor) in Ireland, partly so that church and state could pretend it's possible to have a functioning country without divorce or abortion (and there was always nearby England). Some of that background would have been fascinating in "Evelyn," but maybe too depressing. So we just have to accept that here's this quaint country with this goofy law arbitrarily taking people's kids away. Doyle readily accedes to the removal, then abruptly wants them back. His efforts make up the remainder of the movie.The problem here is what psychologists call "cognitive dissonance": on the one hand we're constantly reminded that the struggle of Doyle and his supporters against the church/state hierarchy is "hopeless," on the other hand, there's never really a sensation of hopelessness or desperation. There's a kind of amiable smoothness to the events, and frequent humorous moments. This may be partly due to the guiding hand of director Bruce Beresford who has never met a dramatic situation that he couldn't make cozy, whether it was the Boer War in "Breaker Morant," Southern racial tensions in "Driving Miss Daisy," capital punishment in "Last Dance" or Japanese POW camps in "Paradise Road," the latter also with J. Margulies from "ER." The orphanages in which the kids live don't even seem that unpleasant aside from one fascistic nun whose misdeeds get exposed anyway. The real horror of the Irish orphanage gulag was that it was swept under the rug for decades. This movie functions under a "sunshine law," literally; I don't want to "spoil" the big climactic scene for anyone, but let's just say that if they ever do another version of "Alice in Wonderland," spunky little Sophie Vavasseur is just the one to stand up (and up, and up) and tell all the high muckamucks they're all just a pack of cards.I hope this isn't making it seem I didn't enjoy the movie; quite the contrary. I especially liked the ordinary-joe quality of Brosnan's Doyle, neither sinister nor saintly, fumbling his way toward becoming a better man for his kids' sake. If anything, I wish they'd given him a few more "warts," if only to make the point that if a parent is not clearly abusing his or her kids, then those kids belong with the parent, and not with the sodding government, or church. Nice to see some of my favorites like Stephen Rea and Aidan Quinn and Alan Bates being such good sports. Julianna M. gets probably her most "normal" film role yet, and shows (at least to me) why she should be a major star. She exudes realness. When male characters contend for her, I buy it. Can't say that about every actress, some of whom probably get paid a lot more for their roles (sorry, Sandra Bullock).Basically this is a "feel-good" flick, and we can always use those. But like the orphans still behind the walls at the end, there is a darker theme still waiting for it's moment in the sun.By the way, dog-racing's not a very nice thing either.
Sweet and simple
posted on 29 Nov 2008Evelyn (2002) is a heart-warming film based on a true story about a man, Desmond Doyle (Pierce Brosnan) who finds himself down and out when the Irish courts rule that his three children, Evelyn (Sophie Vavasseur), Dermot (Niall Beagan), and Maurice (Hugh McDonagh) are to be remanded into the custody of a Catholic-run orphanage after his wife leaves him the day after Christmas.This film tugs at your heart strings, but surprisingly not to the point of tears. And, as it is based on a true story, it brings that much more warmth to your heart. Pierce Brosnan and Sophie Vavasseur really shine in their respective roles. Certain scenes are a bit to-the-point, as if a little more dialog could've been added and the film is relatively short, clocking in at an hour and a half, but nevertheless, it still succeeds in taking you on a journey with Desmond Doyle as he fights for his family.VERDICT: A lighthearted fare that any parent can appreciate and that pretty much anyone sympathize with. Recommended to any parent or anyone in search of a light, heart-warming film.6.5 out of 10.0
can you say treacle?
posted on 09 Aug 2008Oh my gosh, this one is just awful. It's one of those movies where, after you've watched it, and spit up whatever you just ate, you have to say, "Why did all these quality people agree to appear in this pitiful movie?" Aiden Quinn sleep-walks through it, at least Alan Bates (who has sadly gotten old; I kept thinking about 'An Unmarrried Woman' through all his scenes)gets to have a little fun, but Juliana Margulies? Has there ever been a less appealing role for a somewhat talented actress? Pierce Brosnan is sure good looking. He can't sing. Ireland is pretty. And that's not enough to float this pitiful little flick, unless you love child actresses who chew scenery, and a screenplay that'll make you spew sugar tablets.
Quality Movie After Rocky Start
posted on 03 Aug 2008After a disjointed and confusing exposition the movie really takes off as Desmond Doyle begins his quest to reunite with his children.Pierce Brosnan gives a winning performance as a down-and-out man with his life falling apart. The movie provides a clever balance of drama and humor. Overall, the movie was well-paced. Only the beginning of the movie suffers because far too much exposition is squeezed into short and confusing scenes. The one major drawback to Brosnan's character is his appearance often does not fit the mood. Even in a disheveled state he looks far too good looking.Overall, the movie is worth seeing.
A fine and enjoyable film!
posted on 16 Jul 2008I view a considerable amount of motion pictures both for work and for pleasure. Evelyn is a very well made film. The actors, the cinematography, the editing and the soundtrack are all first rate. A period piece that actually feels authentic for a change. Leaving the theatre, cheerfully for a change, during The Chicago International Film Festival, I overheard several people commenting that this is Pierce Brosnan's finest acting performance to date. I can hardly disagree and wouldn't it be a hoot if politics were set aside and Mr. Brosnan received an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor? Indeed, there is life after Bond, Mr. Bond! You've earned it.
Want to see this movie again
posted on 30 Jun 2008I saw bits and pieces of this movie,Evelyn, today. I really would like to watch it again in its entirety. Does anyone know when it will air again and on what network? It is a wonderful story. The all star cast is great esp. Aidan Quinn and Pierce Brosnan. Also, does anyone know if it is based on a true story? I've never heard of the movie before today. It makes for good holiday programming during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays even though it does not contain a holiday theme. It's heartwarming family-type appeal, I think, would be well received during this time of year. I would strongly urge Oxygen or the Hallmark channel to run it again. There should be more movies and programs such as this on TV these days promoting family values and wholesome settings for our children. So much of television is just wasted time and it is better left off. "Silence is golden"!
not without interest but could have been better
posted on 05 Apr 2008`Evelyn' is a decent enough little picture that gives Pierce Brosnan a chance to shed his slick James Bond persona and stretch a bit as an actor.
Here he portrays Desmond Doyle, an unemployed working class stiff living in Ireland in the mid-1950's. When his wife suddenly runs off to Australia with another man, Doyle is confronted with having to raise his three young children on his own. Because he is out of work, the Irish government steps in and decides to send the children to orphanages. It is Doyle's fight to regain custody of his children that ultimately leads to a celebrated Supreme Court case and the eventually overturning of Ireland's archaic laws in this area.`Evelyn' is more interesting for the glimpse it affords us into this obscure piece of Irish history than it is for the human drama at the film's core.
The screenplay by Paul Pender, though it does an adequate task of dramatizing the situation, often feels incomplete and underdeveloped at the story's deepest levels. For while the film resists the temptation to lay on the sentimentality too thickly, it often feels too dry and detached to make us ever really care much about the characters on screen. We know that Doyle loves his children and they love him, but we never seem to go much beneath that surface level in our understanding of any of the characters. It doesn't help that the director, Bruce Beresford, often goes in for obvious corny imagery such as young Evelyn's belief that slanting sun rays actually represent the presence of guardian angels – a concept that is replayed at various convenient moments in the story for purposes of intended emotional uplift. In doesn't work because it reeks of phoniness at a time when hard-edged reality is what is really called for. Indeed, somehow, despite the fact that we know this is all based on a true story, much of what we see here does not always have the ring of authenticity about it. Perhaps, given the grimness of the subject matter, the film is a bit too light and airy in tone, a bit too eager to please and to make us feel good about life. Doyle's relationship with a woman who works in a local pub is also underdeveloped, and the supposed rivalry between Doyle and his lawyer for her attentions is so badly handled that one wonders why the filmmakers even bothered to include it at all. The film is generally well acted, with Sophie Vavasseur stealing the spotlight as little Evelyn. This first rate child actress is utterly poised, winsome and captivating in her portrayal of a warmhearted, clearheaded little girl. Her performance, in fact, makes the carpers among us feel a little bit like curmudgeons. Alan Bates does an impressive job playing a broken down, alcoholic ex-attorney who rallies to the cause of this giant-slaying David, a stereotype admittedly, but one which Bates invests with a sly charm and devil-may-care crustiness. Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea and Julianna Margules do their best with less well-developed roles. Brossan gets points for at least trying to stretch his acting muscles a bit, but somehow he never really plumbs the emotional and psychological depths inherent in the character he is portraying. This might be as much the fault of the screenplay as of the actor, however.What does keep `Evelyn' interesting, despite all its flaws, is the sense of history it manages to give us, so that, even though it lacks the layering one usually associates with Beresford's best work, the film has enough going for it to recommend it.
What happened to the true story on which this is based??
posted on 09 Feb 2008I had just finished the book by Evelyn Doyle, beautifully written and unsentimental. Caution *****possible spoilers*****I had not realized there was a movie being made about this and was delighted upon its release. Was I in for a shock.First of all the father in the book is only 31 years old and Pierce is too long in the tooth for that by about 20 years. Next Evelyn is the eldest of six children, the only girl (seven years old) with five younger brothers.Desmond puts his children into temporary care while he goes to find a job in England as the economy of the fifties means the unemployment rate is high in Ireland. He is absolutely devoted to them and does not have a drinking problem. His wife does and she abuses Evelyn and the boys terribly, abandons them frequently and finally runs off to Scotland with Desmond's first cousin, which causes a little complication in the family, as the first cousin's dad is Desmond's favourite uncle.Desmond comes back to a job in Dublin with his sympathetic protestant English landlady who leaves her husband for him and is 10 years older than him. She will be a housekeeper to him when he gets his children back.He is devastated to learn that because he put them into temporary care he needs his wife's signature to get them back which is not forthcoming. Evelyn is beautifully treated in the convent and has the respect and love and sympathy of all the nuns. She thanks the nuns for her care in the flyleaf of her book. She misses her little brothers dreadfully.Desmond sues for custody on his own, a remarkable thing for a 31 year old to do for his six children in the era that was fifties Ireland. His love for his children, and his own father's unwavering support shines through at all times. He fights all the way to the Supreme Court - with Irish legal assistance - and he is the one who goes through the law books with his father one night, seeking loopholes.A far more involving story than that portrayed in the film and of course more realistic. I can imagine the script meetings over this movie. "We don't need that many children, cut the three extra boys" " I think if he was a stupid drunk redeemed by a woman who wants the children back, that would play better", etc. etc. A good book made totally unrecognizable for the masses. Evelyn Doyle, you must be soooooo mad.
Wonderful! A must-see film for December.
posted on 09 Feb 2008Spoiler warning: Some character descriptions, and plot set-up.Evelyn is a touching film that features Pierce Brosnan in a role that is warm, sensitive and caring -- the complete opposite of the James Bond persona most audiences are familiar with. Brosnan plays Desmond Doyle, a father whose children have been shuttled off to Church-run orphanages by the government. His feisty determination to win them back brings support from the most unlikely places...a bar maid (Julianna Margulies), an American attorney with Irish roots (Aidan Quinn), a local attorney (Stephen Rea) and a retired barrister (Alan Bates).I consider myself a tough cookie when it comes to film, but my recommendation is to take lots of hankies to see this one. It's uplifting and funny; heartwarming and dramatic. It is so refreshing to see a movie of this type -- on the big screen, not buried in the family section of your local video store. In this era of gratuitous big screen violence -- where so many current releases offer less than poignant stories that hold even less meaning for their audiences -- this one was a breath of fresh air.Brosnan was lovably gritty as Doyle...down on his luck but desperately in love with his family. Margulies shines as the woman determined to straighten him out. Quinn, Rea and Bates are the perfect legal team...hamming it up with such aplomb it's hard to pick a favorite among them.All in all, this is a wonderful film, appropriate for families with children or anyone who wants to see an uplifting dramatic film during the holiday season.
Ugh
posted on 28 Jan 2008Spoiler aspects. There is no tension or suspense in this movie. Since it is based on a true story we know it's going to have a happy ending. Dad loses wife, then the kids, drinks too much and then with the love of a good barmaid (how stereotypical) he gets his kids back. All the main male actors look like they're having too much fun making this film. Please less mugging for the camera and more acting. I wanted to see more of the three children. The story should have been about the kids not the self serving lawyers and a drunk father.
Very Touching, Involving Story
posted on 08 Jan 2008This is a wonderful movie. I admit this movie is manipulative, and probably exaggerated for purposes of drama, but what based-on-a-true story movies aren't? At least it goes after the right things: a father having custody of his kids, rather than them being forced to live in an "institution."The story is based a true situation in the mid 1950s Ireland in which, in the end, the Irish Constitution was amended because of this case. "Desmond Doyle" (Pierce Brosnan) is the loving father whose wife runs off one day with another man, leaving him with three little kids and little visible means of support. Since he didn't have enough finances, the government makes the kids wards of the state and places them in Catholic schools-homes (institutions?).On that Catholic, or "religious," angle, you get a lot of positive and negative scenes here. You have a bad, nasty almost sadistic nun "Sister Brigid," but the others are fine caring ladies, as they should be. Overall, however, you see a lot of faith portrayed in this film and it's mostly good. Of course, that faith was more out in the open in the '50s than today, but it was inspiring to see in many parts.Brosnan is excellent in the lead role, a man everyone can identify with: a loving but flawed man. He drinks too much, he swears, he doesn't have a steady job but he has great heart and has great determination to the right thing. One has no trouble rooting for him in this story. I think it's the best role he has ever played, far better than his superficial James Bond or thieves roles he normally plays.But nobody hits you as emotionally as little Evelyn (Sophie Vavasseur), one of Doyle's three kids and the one that is focused upon here. (The two little brothers are not given much screen time, for some reason.) Brosnan's allies in here - the two lawyers (played by Stephen Rea and Aiden Quinn) are likable as is Alan Bates who plays a rugged ex-barrister who winds up helping the team. Bates might have had the best role for the supporting actors.This is such an involving story, one that you really care about the people, it can bring a tear or two in the end, but what's wrong with that? When you are finished watching this film, you feel good.
excellent film
posted on 27 Dec 2007Being Irish I watched this film with interest and was pleased with it. I particularly liked the way all the acting was understated. This added a very good feel of realism to the proceedings. Having seen a number of films recently concerning the ill treatment of people under the churches "protection" in Ireland I noticed the comments by some of the reviewers about Evelyn and her ill treatment. I did a bit of checking and found out that seemingly Evelyn (now a grown woman) did not like the way her treatment was shown in the film as she was never mistreated by the nuns in the school, but other than that the factual basis for the film was quite good. I even looked up the Irish Constitution to check on the articles argued over.I especially liked the little verbal quips from the characters which lightened the atmosphere of the movie which could easily have been a very dark film. All in all a very good piece of work
Based on real events, a father who changed family laws in Ireland.
posted on 09 Dec 2007At the core of this story was a 1941 Irish law which required both parents agreement to get children out of Irish government care. But this case involved a mother who had run off, possibly to Australia, and who could not be contacted. A very nice movie, with a good message.Young Sophie Vavasseur is Evelyn Doyle, the little girl whose testimony at the Irish supreme court was the deciding factor. Pierce Brosnan is her father, Desmond Doyle, who gave up drinking and who worked hard to afford a home for his daughter and two sons. Julianna Margulies plays a local Irish pub worker Bernadette Beattie who befriends Desmond. SPOILERS. The lawyers working for Desmond focused on the Irish constitution which guaranteed parents and their children the right to happiness together. It was decided by a 2:1 split vote that the law was counter to the constitution and therefore not valid. Not only did Evelyn and her brothers go home, many many more children were reunited with their families.
this movie has no subtext... which makes me sad
posted on 20 Oct 2007I don't mind how the movie diverges from the actual story as its primary purpose is entertainment but I found the movie's script let things down enormously. I found the script was extremely blatant and was very cliché. Fortunately the strength of the story (the story, not the script), the acting and the directing make the movie enjoyable enough. If only this movie had a better writer then the story could have made a much bigger impact.ERRATA: ccthemovieman-1 writes in his review, "The story is based a true situation in the mid 1950s Ireland in which, in the end, the Irish Constitution was amended because of this case." Neither in the movie nor in the real events from which the movie is based was the Irish Constitution amended. SPOILER: In both, Desmond Doyle's victory is achieved by challenging the constitutional validity of the law which was used to refuse Desmond custody of his children. The supreme court held that the statute conflicts with the constitution and is therefore invalid (hence that law could no longer be used to deprive Desmond of custody).
harmless, solid feel good movie
posted on 22 Jul 2007in fact there is not much to say about this film. simple story: father looses children to custody, fights against state and church to get them back and in the end succeeds. You got the usual subplots, like children vs. nuns, lawyer vs. judge etc. This mixed up with some laughs, some tears, some values and some prayers. Altogether well acted, well produced. Shallow but solid. I guess you can see a lot worse in cinema, but of course you also can see a lot better.
My kids enjoyed this
posted on 16 Jul 2007This is the true story of a father who battled some unfair Irish child custody laws about 50 years ago. He puts his kids in an orphanage, and then cannot get them back. He suffers from a prejudice that only mothers can raise kids.I liked this movie because I identified with the father. To my surprise, my kids love this movie also. They've watched it about 10 times. This is partly because they've been the victims of a court-ordered custody change. But also, my daughters find the Evelyn Doyle character inspiring. She is calm and courageous and sensible in the face of a wrong system.
Father love is important too
posted on 19 Jul 2009***SLIGHT SPOILERS*** A wonderful heartfelt telling of a true story of perseverance and the love of a father for his children. This is even more impressive in that Mr. Doyle fights a child welfare system in 1950's Ireland, unlike our own, that did not ensure the separation of church and state. Bruce Beresford directs with great compassion for the human condition and Sophie Vavasseur as Evelyn is a treasure. I couldn't stop looking at her face. A wonderful ensemble of actors including Julianna Margulies and Aidan Quinn. All this with stunning Irish locations and a natural light that will take your breath away. Pierce Brosnan fans will love him in this role as the father who fights an antiquated legal system .. and wins.