Sean Lawlor Movies

His uncle having recently died in his arms after a hard fall from a high roof, a Boston carpenter decides to pen a play about the funeral despite having no previous theater experience and only his instinct to guide him. Jack O'Toole was just an average guy from an average family, but the instant he gazed into the eyes of his dying uncle everything changed. Taken by emotion and stirred by an internal voice that encourages him to filter his pain into something creative, Jack quits his job and begins writing a play. Much to Jack's surprise, his heartfelt vision slowly comes into focus in the back room of a local pub -- the only stage he can afford. Anyone who has ever written or produced a play will likely attest to the personal toll it takes, however, and Jack is no exception. Not only does Jack's new marriage begin to suffer as a result of his creative aspirations, but his strained relationship with his own father begins to buckle under the stress as well. As the night of the big premiere looms ever closer, the vocal doubts of his family and friends do little to distract the budding playwright from telling the story that continues to weigh on his heart and mind. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Their father having recently died, three estranged Irish siblings come together under the same roof for the first time in years in director Tamar Simon Hoffs' feature adaptation of an original stage by Joseph O'Connor. As the wake ends and day fades to night, old tensions begin to emerge as revelations about child abuse, sibling rivalries, and suspected infidelities gradually come to light. Malcolm McDowell, Olivia Tracey, and Max Beesley star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Mel Gibson, long-time heartthrob of the silver screen, came into his own as a director with Braveheart, an account of the life and times of medieval Scottish patriot William Wallace and, to a lesser degree, Robert the Bruce's struggle to unify his nation against its English oppressors. The story begins with young Wallace, whose father and brother have been killed fighting the English, being taken into the custody of his uncle, a nationalist and pre-Renaissance renaissance man. He returns twenty years later, a man educated both in the classics and in the art of war. There he finds his childhood sweetheart Murron (Catherine McCormack), and the two quickly fall in love. There are murmurs of revolt against the English throughout the village, but Wallace remains aloof, wishing simply to tend to his crops and live in peace. However, when his love is killed by English soldiers the day after their secret marriage (held secretly so as to prevent the local English lord from exercising the repulsive right of prima noctae, the privilege of sleeping with the bride on the first night of the marriage), he springs into action and single-handedly slays an entire platoon of foot soldiers. The other villagers join him in destroying the English garrison, and thus begins the revolt against the English in what will eventually become full-fledged war. Wallace eventually leads his fellow Scots in a series of bloody battles that prove a serious threat to English domination and, along the way, has a hushed affair with the Princess of Wales (the breathtaking Sophie Marceau) before his imminent demise. For his efforts, Gibson won the honor of Best Director from the Academy; the movie also took home statuettes for Best Picture, Cinematography, Makeup, and Sound Effects. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

The My Left Foot team of star Daniel Day-Lewis and director Jim Sheridan were reunited to make this political docudrama about Irish citizen Gerry Conlon (Day-Lewis), who was wrongly convicted of taking part in an IRA bombing that killed five in Guildford, England in 1974. After a brutal interrogation forces him to sign a false confession, Gerry is sentenced to prison, his family is raked over the coals, and later his father Giuseppe (Pete Postelthwaite) is charged with being an accomplice and is also sent to prison where he lives out the last days of his life. Day-Lewis gives an outstanding performance as a man tormented by the injustice served him. Watch for Emma Thompson as the persevering lawyer who works for years, gathering evidence to clear Gerry's name. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

This melodrama is set in Ireland and follows bill collector and karate master Taffin as he and other try to keep a soccer field from being destroyed by developers. Soon he finds himself involved in a sticky web of blackmail, political corruption and murder all precipitated by the avarice of a major chemical company. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide