Gerard McSorley Movies
Born in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, character actor Gerard McSorley has played a lot of bad guys during his prolific acting career. He started with a theater background working with Jim Sheridan at the Project Theater. In 1981 he joined Dublin's Abbey Players, Ireland's national theater company. After a small role in the TV movie S.O.S. Titanic, he made his film debut in Neil Jordan's debut film, Danny Boy. He went on to appear in Jordan's later film work Michael Collins and The Butcher Boy. In 1993 he appeared in In the Name of the Father, directed by Jim Sheridan. He would continue to work with the director at his Hell's Kitchen production company in Dublin on the films Some Mother's Son, The Boxer, Agnes Browne, and Bloody Sunday. He was also in Atom Egoyan's Felicia's Journey, Alan Parker's Angela's Ashes, and Thaddeus O'Sullivan's Ordinary Decent Criminal. As a voice actor, he narrated the film Dancing at Lughnasa as well as the television documentary series In Search of Ancient Ireland. He's also worked extensively on Irish television. In 2003 he can be seen as the psychotic gangster John Gilligan in Joel Schumacher's Veronica Guerin. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide- 1988
The troubles in Northern Ireland are the backdrop for this made-for-television drama about an IRA hitman assigned to seek revenge against a defector. Patrick Bergin stars as Michael McGurk, an IRA terrorist who suffers from a guilty conscience after a bombing takes the lives of innocent citizens. After handing himself over to the police and turning on his former allies, McGurk and his family are shipped off to Australia as part of a witness protection program. Vowing to avenge the disloyalty to the Army, the IRA puts a hit out on McGurk and his family. Elliott Gould stars as Callaghan, the retired IRA hitman who is called upon to track down and murder the McGurks. Shot partially in Belfast, London, and Sydney, this political thriller has a running time of over three hours. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
Actress Anjelica Huston directed and stars in this drama based on Brendan O'Carroll's novel The Mammy. Set in Dublin in 1967, Agnes Browne (Anjelica Huston) is the mother of seven children, barely making ends meet when her husband dies, leaving her to figure out not only how to support the family, but also how to pay for a funeral. To cover the burial expenses, Agnes resorts to borrowing money from a loan shark (Ray Winstone) who isn't interested in special deals for widows or orphans. Agnes learns to scrape up a living selling fruit and vegetables, and makes sure her children get the best education possible, but self-sacrificing Agnes would like one small luxury for herself: Tom Jones will be playing a concert in town soon, and she'd like nothing more than to hear the man sing "It's Not Unusual" live and in person. A French baker with eyes for Agnes (Arno Chevrier) joins forces with her children to see that she gets her wish. Agnes Browne boasts an accurate portrayal of Ireland in the late 1960s, thanks in part to the fact that Huston spent a great deal of time there as a child; the film was shown as part of the Directors Fortnight series at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anjelica Huston, Marion O'Dwyer, (more)
A misleading title and a different type of performance from Hugh Grant are two of the offbeat features of An Awfully Big Adventure. Virginal theatre fanatic Stella (Georgina Cates), who speaks with her dead mother by phone, joins a theatrical troupe in 1947 England headed by manipulative director Meredith Potter (Grant). Stella quickly falls for Potter, but he doesn't return her affections, driving her into the arms of the troupe's arrogant star, P.L. O'Hara (Alan Rickman). O'Hara eventually takes Stella's virginity, although she secretly remains devoted to Potter. More secrets of the troupe are revealed at the story's climax, although nothing is really resolved to any of the characters' satisfaction. Not quite a satire and not quite a drama, An Awfully Big Adventure is occasionally mean-spirited and frequently dour, which may just be a result of its subject matter. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, (more)
- 1982
- R
Writer/director Neil Jordan's debut feature is a tense thriller played out amid the violence in Northern Ireland. Stephen Rea stars as Danny, a saxophone player in a traveling band who witnesses the brutal murders of the manager of the band (who is involved in some extortion payoffs) and a deaf and dumb girl, who has seen the killing of the manager. After observing these cold-blooded executions, Danny becomes obsessed with hunting down the killers. His obsession develops into a murderous rage so intense that he ends up becoming as heartless a killer as the people he is trying to find. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Alan Devlin, (more)
Paul Greengrass (The Theory of Flight) wrote and directed this powerful look at January 30, 1972 -- better known as "Bloody Sunday." Ivan Cooper (James Nesbitt) attempts to organize a peaceful protest after Protestant leaders imprison Catholics without a trial. His actions conflict with hard-line IRA members who have no interest in a "peaceful" response, as well as the military men responsible for keeping the peace who are led by Major General Robert Ford (Tim Pigott-Smith) and Brigadier Patrick Maclellan (Nicholas Farrell). By the end of the day, the military will fire on the protestors and kill 13 people. The events of this day still haunt the peace process in Ireland. Bloody Sunday was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Nesbitt, Tim Pigott-Smith, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, (more)
The return of a vengeful ex-girlfriend sets into motion a series of gruesome events for a hapless Irish bachelor in director Robert Quinn's grim black comedy. Tommy (Andrew Scott) had thought he had seen the last of Jean (Katy Davis) after their recent breakup, but when Jean returns to stake her claim on Tommy's apartment, the confrontation that ensues makes their previous quarrels look petty by comparison. After leaving the apartment in the head of the fight to cool his head and gather his thoughts, Tommy returns to the apartment only to find that Jean has died sometime in the course of the last few hours. Now faced with the prospect of being a murder suspect, Tommy enlists the aid of his friend Noel (Darren Healy) in ditching the body and ensuring that no one ever finds out what happened. Getting rid of Jean once and for all isn't going to be as simple as it sounds, though, and by the end of this long black night both Tommy's lies and the deceptions of others will return with a vengeance to throw a sizeable wrench in his perfect plan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew Scott, Kelly Reilly, (more)
Directed by Atom Egoyan, Felicia's Journey is a low-key psychological thriller about the relationship between a lovesick young woman and an older man with an ugly secret. Felicia (Elaine Cassidy) has lived all of her life in a small village in rural Ireland. She has fallen in love with a boy named Johnny (Peter McDonald), so when Johnny unexpectedly travels to England in search of a job, Felicia wants to follow him -- especially since she's pregnant, a fact that she's keeping secret from her family, as well as Johnny. However, Johnny's family refuses to give her his address, so she leaves for Birmingham with only a sketchy idea of his whereabouts. Shortly after arriving, Felicia encounters Joseph Ambrose Hilditch (Bob Hoskins), the meticulous manager of a catering concern. She needs a place to stay and he recommends a good bed-and-breakfast. They soon become friendly, but Hilditch is more than just a mildly eccentric middle-aged man with a taste for French cuisine: he's had a long history of using and abusing homeless women, and Felicia looks like she's doomed to be the next victim. Based on a novel by William Trevor, Felicia's Journey was shown in competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Elaine Cassidy, (more)
- 2002
The PBS series In Search of Ancient Ireland was inspired by the simultaneously published book co-authored by filmmaker Leo Eaton and Carmel McCaffrey. The three-part, three-hour series endeavored to separate fact from fantasy in its depiction of the Emerald Isle, though in most cases the dividing line was thin indeed. The timespan depicted herein began with the arrival of the neolithic families some 4,000 years before the birth of Christ, and ended with the Norman Invasion. In Search of Ancient Ireland was broadcast in the United States from June 12 to 26, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
In Search of Ancient Ireland, Episode I: Heroes investigates the early myths and legends of Ireland. Gerard McSorley narrates. This hour-long program begins before written history by examining burial mounds and stone age relics. Archaeologists and historians provide a historical context to folklore about the warrior Cu Chullain and the mighty Queen Maeve. The film also looks at the Bronze Age and the founding of a new kingdom Scotland. Originally broadcast on PBS in June of 2002. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 2002
In Search of Ancient Ireland, Episode II: Saints investigates the rise of Christianity in Ireland. Gerard McSorley narrates. This hour-long program starts with the flock of missionaries after the fifth century A.D. After the fall of the Roman Empire, these missionaries converted the mostly pagan country to Christianity. Reading and writing also helped to bring Ireland out of the Dark Ages, but the church's tight hold on literacy allowed it to control history and the primary means of education. Originally broadcast on PBS in June of 2002. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 2002
In Search of Ancient Ireland, Episode III: Warlords investigates the 150 years of war in Ireland. Gerard McSorley narrates. This hour-long program begins with the Vikings seizing control and the murder of King Brian Boru. In 1155, Pope Adrian IV gives King Henry II of England permission to conquer and rule Ireland. The English seize control over the Irish, leading to a long legacy of turmoil. Originally broadcast on PBS in June of 2002. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, 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
- Starring:
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, (more)
The rise and fall of one of the most important and controversial figures in Ireland's struggle for independence is chronicled in this biographical drama. In 1916, the British government ruled Ireland with a firm and cruel hand, as they had for 700 years. When a group of Irish rebels staged a six-day siege at Dublin's General Post Office, only one of the leaders was able to escape execution -- Eamon De Valera (Alan Rickman), an American citizen of Irish blood. A number of De Valera's followers are sent to prison, and one of them, Michael Collins (Liam Neeson), walked out of jail convinced that a new approach was needed to free his homeland from British rule. With his compatriot Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn), Collins formed the Irish Volunteers, who used a combination of terrorist violence and guerilla warfare to attack the British where their defenses were weakest, and employed espionage and a key inside informant (Stephen Rea) to learn what the British planned to do next -- and what they knew about Collins and his supporters. Collins' strategic skills and talent for warfare made a major impact on the British, and he became the hero of the new-born Republican Movement, which seemed to offer a real hope of freedom, despite the violent reprisals of the vicious paramilitary police, the Black and Tans. De Valera, however, was often in conflict with Collins in terms of the methods and approach of their struggle. Collins also found himself in a different sort of conflict with Boland when he fell in love with his girlfriend, a strong-willed advocate of Irish freedom named Kitty Kiernan (Julia Roberts). Eager to gain support for the Republican cause, De Valera sought economic and military support from the U.S.; when he returned, the Volunteers seemed to have finally won a real victory, as the British government announced that they were willing to formally negotiate with them. While Collins was once the radical and De Valera was the moderate, once negotiations began, Collins sought to end the violence that he saw killing so many young people and was willing to agree to a compromise that would create the Irish Free State. While the agreement would still leave final political control with the British, it would bring a greater self-determination to Ireland, and Collins believed that it was a crucial first step that could lead, in time, to true freedom for his people. De Valera, however, was strongly opposed to the treaty with Britian, and this led to violence among pro- and anti-treaty factions; soon Ireland's most loved leader was now branded a traitor by many of his countrymen. Michael Collins was voted Best Picture at the 1996 Venice Film Festival, and Liam Neeson was awarded the prize for Best Actor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, (more)
Brian Kirk's gothic thriller Middletown excoriates the actions and attitudes of the Irish Catholic clergy by honing in on one psychotically deranged fire-and-brimstone preacher. Matthew MacFadyen is Gabriel Hunter, a priest fresh from missions work in Africa. After 15 years of service in the field, Gabriel returns to his hometown in Ireland to occupy the now-vacant pulpit. Once there, he re-encounters three members of his working-class brood: his father, Bill Hunter (Gerard McSorley); his younger brother, the service station attendant Jim (Daniel Mays); and Jim's expectant wife Caroline (Eva Birthistle), who runs the local speakeasy. The family welcomes Gabriel home, but from the first moments of his arrival, he projects a violent, hair-trigger temper; relentless, psychopathic bursts of unchecked anger; and a sadistic obsession with inflicting pain and cruelty on everything and everyone around him -- from squelching live mice beneath his heels to strangling the neck of a chicken that he seizes during a cockfight. From the pulpit, Gabriel uses sermons to relentlessly damn the members of his congregation for their sins, including all activity at the local pub, which he perceives as a den of iniquity. When Gabriel hears Caroline's refusal to have her child baptized, the statement pushes him completely over the edge and triggers a string of increasingly violent acts that will bring the entire community to its knees -- and threaten the lives and safety of Bill, Jim, Caroline, and the newborn baby. Daragh Carville authored the script. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew MacFadyen, Daniel Mays, (more)
- 1995
- R
Northern Ireland's civil unrest is the backdrop for this tense drama. In Belfast in 1975, a bomb blast rips open a pub in a Protestant neighborhood, killing the patrons inside. Following this attack, representatives from the Irish Republican Army and local Loyalist forces call a mutual truce, which angers foot soldiers on both sides of the fence. Kenny (James Frain) is the leader of a rabid anti-IRA faction. His best friend is Ginger (Ian Hart), a violent man who has no remorse about killing Catholics. Kenny and Ginger wait out the truce alongside Leonard (Michael Gambon), politically the best-informed of Kenny's group; Eddie (Gary Lydon), Kenny's second in command; and Tommy (Ruaidhri Conroy), a teenager new to the fighting. Ann (Maria Doyle Kennedy), Kenny's former wife, has become involved with a kind man named Liam (John Lynch). While Liam is apolitical, he's a practicing Catholic, which, combined with Kenny's jealousy, puts his life in great danger as he tries to find his way home using a supposedly safe route. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Hart, John Lynch, (more)
A devastated father struggles to find answers after a bomb detonated in the peaceful Irish town of Omagh claims the life of his twenty-one year-old son in this topical docudrama from writer/producer Paul Greengrass and director Pete Travis. In 1988 a group who referred to themselves as the "Real IRA" set a bomb that took the lives of thirty-one people in the Northern Ireland town of Omaga. In the aftermath of the explosion, soft-spoken mechanic Michael Gallagher (Gerard McSorley) was forever changed by the loss of his twenty-one year-old son. Determined not to let the same grim fate befall his neighbors, Gallagher took it upon himself to become the official spokesperson for the victim's families, challenging the government's official stand on terrorism and providing a voice for the grief-stricken families of the innocent victims killed in the blast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerard McSorley, Michele Forbes, (more)
Ordinary Decent Criminal is a classic gangster movie in modern-day Ireland. It follows the extraordinary adventures of a Robin Hood character, Michael Lynch, a thief, bigamist, liar, and criminal genius who robs from the rich to give to the poor. Michael is suave, sardonic, and sexy. When his leather-clad figure weaves its way through the Dublin traffic on a powerful motorbike, people stare in awe. He loves his two wives (who happen to be sisters), his wild kids, his gang, and, most of all, his way of life. He has two fundamental beliefs: be loyal to your own and the hell with the establishment. As his ego gets bigger and bigger, he enjoys his notoriety more than the cash it brings. Determined to break him, the police increases its harassment of the whole gang, as Michael makes a mistake that could threaten his good name with the public and his reliability as a bread-winner. But he recovers his equilibrium in time to dream up a final grand scheme to survive the trap set for him. The story is reminiscent of John Boorman's The General about a similar real-life character, Martin Cahill, also a Robin Hood married to two sisters. The impressive cast includes Kevin Spacey, Linda Fiorentino, and Peter Mullan, the tragic hero of My Name is Joe. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Linda Fiorentino, (more)
Two guys facing more challenges than most people learn some valuable lessons about life and love in this comedy drama. Michael Connolly (Steven Robertson) is a young man in his early twenties who suffers from cerebral palsy; confined to a wheelchair, Michael's speech is unintelligible to all but a handful of people, and his situation has made him shy and withdrawn as he spends his days at a home for the disabled in Dublin. One day, a new arrival moves in at the home -- Rory O'Shea (James McAvoy), a lad about Michael's age who suffers from muscular dystrophy and can only use two fingers on one hand. This, however, hasn't stopped Rory from developing a sharp tongue, a quick wit, a taste for alcohol, and the courage to put the moves on any women who crosses his path. Rory can also understand Michael's attempts at speech, and Rory puts his outsized personality to work encouraging his new friend to become more outgoing and not to let life pass him by, despite his handicaps. In time, Rory and Michael are able to convince Eileen (Brenda Fricker), director of the home, that they should be allowed to get an apartment on their own, and the boys use their stipend to rent a flat and hire an assistant to help with the tasks they can't manage. Rory chooses Siobhan (Romola Garai) for the job, mainly because she's blonde and pretty, and she soon becomes attracted to him; unfortunately, Michael has fallen in love with her, and this leads to a major rift between him and Rory that drives them apart. Screened in the United Kingdom as Inside I'm Dancing and in the United States as Rory O'Shea Was Here, the film won the Audience Award at the 2004 Edinburgh Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James McAvoy, Steven Robertson, (more)
An Anglo-American co-production, S.O.S. Titanic is a costly, 150-minute reenactment of the infamous sea disaster of 1912. Heading the cast is David Janssen as millionaire John Jacob Astor, who went down with the Titanic, and Cloris Leachman as raucous Denver dowager Molly Brown, who didn't (for the record, Leachman had previously played Brown on a 1957 episode of the TV anthology Telephone Time). Third-billed is Susan Saint James as fictional passenger Leigh Goodwin, who carries most of the dramatic load. Written by Hallmark Hall of Fame veteran James Costigan, the made-for-television S.O.S. Titanic premiered September 23, 1979. In subsequent network and syndicated showings, the film was pared down to 102 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
- R
A 1981 hunger strike in a Belfast prison is the historical inspiration for the drama Some Mother's Son, which attempts to focus on the personal dimensions of the event through its portrayal of the families of the striking prisoners. Directed by Terry George, co-author of In the Name of the Father, the film is anchored by Helen Mirren's performance as Kathleen Quigley, an educated, thoughtful schoolteacher who feels the Irish-English conflict is remote from her life until her son is arrested for his involvement with the Irish Republican Army. Yet while she supports her son and works to save his life, Kathleen nevertheless maintains her disdain for violence. This is in great contrast to Annie Higgins, the mother of Gerard's collaborator, who wholeheartedly embraces the IRA's mission. Despite their differing philosophies, the women form an uneasy bond over the suffering of their imprisoned sons. Kathleen finds herself increasingly politicized but finds herself facing a moral dilemma when the prisoners begin a hunger strike. As Gerard's next of kin, it is her right to agree to intravenous feeding should her son enter a coma; however, many people, including Annie, would see such as an act as betrayal of the strike, leaving Kathleen with a choice between saving her son's life and respecting his cause. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Fionnula Flanagan, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Ray McAnally, (more)
- 2006
Two men who don't like one another very much are on the receiving end of a very creative punishment from the mob in this darkly comic short subject from filmmaker William Sinclair. Finn (Dylan Moran) is a low-level gangster who has fallen out of favor with his higher-ups -- so much so that they decide to put him out of the picture once and for all. Finn's feet are encased in a heavy block of cement, and he's dropped on a beach where the tide is slowly but surely coming in. As Finn tries to find a way out and angrily bemoans his fate, he suddenly discovers he has company -- Jack (Gerard McSorley), another minor mob character whose mistakes helped put Finn on the hit list. Jack is also wearing concrete shoes and bickers with Finn about what to do in their current situation and who is really to blame. Tell It To The Fishes was screened as part of the short film series at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dylan Moran, Gerard McSorley, (more)
Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father) directed this drama about a Belfast boxer, filmed with Dublin locations substituting for Belfast. Released after his 14-year prison sentence for IRA activities, 32-year-old Danny Flynn (Daniel Day-Lewis) returns to his old neighborhood and sees former-flame Maggie (Emily Watson), who has an unhappy marriage and now raises her son alone while her husband is in prison. To get back in the boxing ring, Danny gets the community-center gym back in operation and starts training, encountering opposition from militant IRA members, including Harry (Gerald McSorley). Danny and Maggie grow closer, but after a bomb sets off events leading to the destruction of the gym, Danny leaves for a disastrous boxing match in London. More grim situations arise when he returns to Belfast. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson, (more)
