Green on the Screen
As Seachtain na Gaeilge kicks off, Michael Doherty chooses 10 unmissable Irish movies
It’s never an easy task to choose favourite Irish movies. For one thing, the choice is vast. For another, there is the thorny topic of what actually defines an Irish movie? That said, here are ten Irish features that deserve to be savoured.
The Dead (John Huston, 1987)
John Huston couldn’t have wished for a more sublime swan-song. Based on Joyce’s long short story, The Dead chronicles events at a Dublin party thrown by the Misses Morkan to mark the Feast of the Epiphany. As the evening unfolds, their nephew Gabriel (a brilliant Donal Mccann) is forced to re-evaluate his relationship with his wife, Greta (Anjelica Huston). This is never more evident than when, in a moment of epiphany, a rendition of The Lass of Aughrim transports her back to her youth and a doomed young suitor, Michael Furey. Quote/unquote: “I think he died for me”
Rosie (Paddy Breathnach, 2018)
Roddy Doyle’s ripped-from-the-headlines drama is one that will make you think, make you angry, make you ashamed and make you wonder. And that’s the point. Sarah Greene is superb as the eponymous young Dubliner whose circumstances (in the form of a landlord raising the rent) have left her struggling to find a roof for her family – four young children and a partner (Moe Dunford).
Quote/unquote: “Rose, are you living in your car?”
My Left Foot (Jim Sheridan, 1989)
Jim Sheridan has a few contenders for the short-list, but we’re going to plump for his dazzling biopic of Christy Brown; not least because it heralded the new era of Irish cinema, an era where you could now attract major stars, dispense with the diddly-aye and win Oscars along the way. Daniel Day-lewis and Brenda Fricker (both superb) delivered the Oscars, but Ray Mcanally, Hugh O’conor, Ruth Mccabe and Fiona Shaw all deliver magic performances of their own.
Quote/unquote: “This is Christy Brown, my son. Genius.”
The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, 1992)
Like Sheridan, you could have chosen quite a few of Neil Jordan’s output but we’re going with this terrific thriller about the complications that arise when an IRA kidnapper (Stephen Rea) befriends the British soldier (Forest Whitaker) he has imprisoned and unwittingly finds himself drawn into the latter’s private life. In case somebody has been living in a cave, it’s not fair to elaborate on the plot twists that follow. Suffice to say that at least one sequence will live long in the memory.
Quote/unquote: “Who knows the secrets of the human heart?”
Patrick’s Day (Terry Mcmahon, 2014)
This powerful and moving drama follows Patrick (a superb Moe Dunford), a young man living with schizophrenia. When he finds love and intimacy with a young woman (Catherine Walker), who herself is fighting her own demons, it appears all is going well in Patrick’s world. Unfortunately, his overpowering mother (Kerry Fox) is determined to break up the union, even if that means using her own son’s illness against him. Beautifully shot by DP Michael Lavelle, the narrative is powered by Damien Dempsey’s haunting soundtrack. Quote/unquote: “It’s a hospital: a place to dump somebody so you can return home”
The Informer (John Ford, 1935)
Victor Mclaglen gives the performance of his life as Gypo Nolan, a simple but well-meaning pug who informs on his IRA friend to the British authorities in the hope of having a better life for himself and his girlfriend. Visually, Ford’s morality tale has echoes of German expressionism and deservedly scooped Oscars for Mclaglen, Dudley Nichols’ screenplay, Max Steiner’s score and Ford’s direction.
Quote/unquote: “Frankie! Your mother forgives me!”
I Used To Live Here (Frank Berry, 2014)
Frank Berry’s hugely impressive feature examines the phenomenon of suicide clusters through the prism of 13-year-old Amy (Jordanne Jones), a schoolgirl coping with dramas affecting all young teens (school, spots, boys). Her outlook on life takes on a darker tone when a local boy of her acquaintance takes his own life. Filmed in Killinarden on a shoestring budget, this is an important piece of cinema with a superb performance from young Jordanne. Quote/unquote: “There’s something about that young fella I just don’t get”
Adam & Paul (Lenny Abrahamson, 2004)
Tom Murphy and Mark O’halloran are terrific in Lenny Abrahamson’s hugely impressive black comedy. As a pair of Dublin losers waiting, not so much for Godot, but for their next drug hit, they measure out their lives in depressingly bleak doses. The grimness of the plot is leavened by gallows humour, Dublin-style. Not for the faint-hearted, or those with only a Tayto wrapper for loo roll.
Quote/unquote: “You can’t bar me for squeezing bread!”
Hunger (Steve Mcqueen, 2008)
Mcqueen took a mammoth subject for his debut feature, the 1981 hunger strike, and delivered a truly remarkable and visceral piece of cinema. The second act is a marvellous two-handed set-piece, shot in one continuous take, involving Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) and a local priest (Liam Cunningham) during which Sands reveals his intentions to go on hunger strike to the death and the two men discuss the moral implications of such an action. 22 minutes of pure acting magic.
Quote/unquote: “I have my belief, and in all its simplicity that is the most powerful thing”
Odd Man Out (Carol Reed,1947)
Carol Reed’s striking adaptation of the F.L. Green novel finds James Mason in terrific form as Johnny Mcqueen, an IRA man on the run after a botched bank robbery. As you would expect, the movie is beautifully photographed by DP Robert Krasker who uses the Belfast streets to telling effect. Watch out for such seasoned Irish players as Cyril Cusack, Kathleen Ryan and Dan O’herlihy. Quote/unquote: “In my profession there is neither good nor bad. There is innocence and guilt. That’s all.”
The Breadwinner (Nora Twomey, 2016)
This animated gem from the Cartoon Saloon team is based on the best-selling novel by Canadian author, Deborah Ellis. It’s the moving tale of a girl in Kabul who dresses as a boy in order to provide for her family when her father is arrested by the Taliban. Executive produced by Angelina Jolie, a global ambassador for the empowerment of young girls, The Breadwinner is beautifully shot, elegantly paced and genuinely inspirational.
Quote/unquote: “Raise your words, not your voice”