Black Irish (2007)

Simply Perfect

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

This is simply one of the best films I've seen. It's not about adrenaline fuelled action or big set pieces. It's about real life and real people. And what makes this film work is the masterful directing and the first class acting.All the main cast members pull out great performances. Michael Angarano is terrific as the lead in a career defining performance. I agree with a previous reviewer about the emotional depth in his eyes and facial expressions which are both subtle and complex but always on the money.Many things I can relate to in this movie, it's quite tragic but warm and satisfying at the same time.Watch this movie if you like films that are more real and enjoy great acting and direction.

This independent film is an excellently done drama covering just a few critical months in which all the members of a South Boston Irish family undergo significant changes.Desmond McKay is the brutish, out-of-work husband and father who has become a disappointment to himself, his wife, and his children. Margaret, his wife, is a woman bound to tradition who has become overly self-righteous in her views toward her family and her husband. Older brother, Terry is a brutish teenager well on his way to prison. Kathleen is the daughter and sister who is trying to cope with all the family conflict but who has her own problems as she is pregnant by a boyfriend not interested in his unborn child. Cole, the younger brother, is the innocent victim of all of this turmoil who is a promising baseball player at the local Catholic School and - in the hopes of his mother and priests - a future priest.Cole is delivered a blow when he finds that he must be withdrawn from his private school to attend public school in order that his parents pay for their daughter's entry into a Catholic home for unwed mothers.All of this appears to be extremely cliché, but considered in light of real life, this cliché is an experience being experienced over and over daily by uncountable families world-wide, and to each and every family member, their own personal struggle is far from cliché.What makes this all work is a superior film containing superior acting and superior writing and direction.The thing I really like about DVD's - especially those of independent films - is the insight, through the extra features, as to their making and the "blood and tears" that bring them to fruition. In the extra features we learn that Brad Gann wrote his screenplay based upon the life of his friend Finn Curtin who plays the baseball coach in the film. This gives us an insight to the actual events that lead to this fictional portrayal of a boy in crisis.Added to the script and excellent direction, the wonderful acting makes this film a must-see.Brendan Gleeson is great as the father reaching the end of his life who has not been the perfect man but has retained his sense of humor and irony to the very last.Melissa Leo is unforgettable as the mother trying desperately to maintain the dignity of her family who finally realizes that heart wins over dignity.Emily VanCamp is both heartbreaking and heartwarming as the daughter and sister who has sacrificed her own self-image in the quest for family unity only to find it and become a pillar of strength after she becomes pregnant.Tom Guiry is superior as the object of hate and compassion as the older brother who has become the "bad son." And finally, Michael Angarano steals your heart and soul as the son trying to love all of his family no matter each of their weaknesses.Unless you grew up on the perfect family, you should be able to find identity with one or more of these characters. This is a great family story surely worthwhile of viewing.

A young man struggles to grow up with principles as his family begins to self-destruct around him in this coming of age drama. Cole McKay (Michael Angarano) is a boy in his middle-teens growing up in an Irish-Catholic family in Boston. While Cole has dreams of playing major league baseball some day, his parents Desmond (Brendan Gleeson) and Margaret (Melissa Leo) are blind to his ambitions, and his older brother Terry (Tom Guiry) is a petty criminal who is unwittingly drawing Cole into his orbit. While Margaret is obsessed with projecting an image that the McKay family are happy and God-fearing folk, Desmond has been sinking deeper into depression ever since he lost his job, and his marriage is slowly but surely falling apart. The family's pride takes a body blow when Cole's teenage sister Kathleen (Emily Van Camp) discovers she's pregnant, but Cole decides it's time he took on some adult responsibilities, and gets himself a part-time job at a restaurant. Black Irish was the first directorial effort for screenwriter Brad Gann.

I attended the World Premiere of "Black Irish" at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Initially, the blurb in the program guide suggested a fairly formulaic coming-of-age drama. But looks can be deceiving, and the synopsis just barely scratches the surface of what is, in reality, one of the most complex, rich, and heartwarming stories I've seen in quite some time. Remember those drawings in art class? The ones where the page is covered with black crayon and as you scrape off the outer layer you find multicolored wonders underneath? That's the most apt description that can be applied to "Black Irish." Because, as you'll discover, nothing is at it seems. And that is the singular achievement of Brad Gann, directing from his own script, with an ensemble cast that lends such passion to the material that I left the theater shaking my head in awe.Webster's defines "hero" as, "one that shows great courage, an object of extreme admiration and devotion." It's hard to grow up without one, especially as a teenager in hardscrabble South Boston. Often the father possesses the traits a boy needs to survive those difficult years and prepare for the world he's about to enter. An older brother will usually suffice in cases where Dad is absent or unable or unwilling to fit the bill. Many coming-of-age stories place a teacher or clergyman in this position. But someone always appears, the boy grows up, he moves on, and they all live happily ever after. But what if all fail or don't show up to the table? "Black Irish" poses that question, and more. So much more.Meet the McKays. Brendan Gleeson is Desmond, the father who doesn't quite qualify as hero due to years of heavy drinking and wallowing in self-pity, a legend in his own mind but not to his family. Tom Guiry is Terry, the older brother who's headed down a path of violence and self-destruction not unlike his father, giving up the hero role in the process. Sister Kathleen (Emily Van Camp), pregnant, wants little to do with the chaos around her. Amidst all this, Melissa Leo is Margaret, the mother who tries to hold it all together at the risk of losing her own somewhat sane self along the way. And our protagonist, 16 year-old Cole, is stunningly portrayed by Michael Angarano, as the boy who yearns for that moral compass that he needs to help guide the way into adulthood."Black Irish" takes us along on young Cole's search, and as we emotionally invest ourselves in his quest, we are at turns confused and occasionally amused, as is he, but mostly we hurt. To say that we feel his pain does not do justice to a story that is, at its heart, real life. And this is the true surprise of this film. These characters are far from one dimensional, the reality far from the clichéd impression even the paragraph above might suggest. There were audible gasps at the numerous twists and turns that Gann has infused into this shockingly brilliant script, no less than 12 years in the making and 30 rewrites along the way, as he indicated in the Q&A following the screening. And just when you think you know these people, just as you relax when the film seems to enter territory in which we feel comfortable, something happens. We discover that those we thought were cold and distant have a heart, a vulnerability and tenderness conveyed by Gleeson and Guiry that left me dumbfounded. Those we thought were soft and sweet, innocent and vulnerable, have a soft, fuzzy animal inside ready to turn vicious when backed into a corner, as Leo, VanCamp, and Angarano all exhibit along the way.In the Q&A, Gann mentioned VanCamp's long-running portrayal of Amy on TV's "Everwood" as the inspiration for her being cast in this role. Fans will not be disappointed, and those unfamiliar with this actor's ability to bring nuance to what could otherwise be a stock performance will be wowed. Guiry lends the film some of the most heart wrenching surprises, as his ability to turn moods on a dime is unparalleled. Leo carves out new territory, again, in a role that could have been tired and worn in the hands of a lesser actor. She truly shines. And Gleeson does a star turn in a magnificent performance that, and I rarely use this term, is Oscar-worthy. Finally, Angarano is perfectly cast in the role of the quintessential underdog, in what I believe is the performance of his career. No young actor today has the ability to say so much with his eyes and facial expressions, and as the boy who becomes father to the man he sets a new standard for others who follow to live up to."Black Irish" carves a new benchmark in the coming-of-age genre. Because it is so much more than that. The audience cheered at the end of the screening here. It was a response I've not heard at any of the 70+ films I've seen at 7 festivals this year. It is deserving of your time, and will truly touch your heart as it did mine.