Mary Murray Movies
- 1999
- NR
In this action picture from Ireland, Johnny T (Stuart Sinclair Blyth) from Belfast makes his living stealing cars but wants to get out of the business while luck is still on his side. However, he's been having troubles with Whacker (Gavin Kelty), a thief from Dublin who wants to take his piece of the business -- and his girlfriend. To settle their differences, the two agree to take part in a Dublin to Belfast road race, with Johnny, Whacker, and several others stealing a fleet of cars for an off-the-books rally. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Sinclair Blyth, Gavin Kelty, (more)
- 1998
In this contemporary drama, a young man who believes that he is descended from ancient warriors finds it hard to live up to their ideals in the modern world. Neal (Darren Healy) is a member of an Irish "pony club," a street gang that rides horses bareback through the streets of Dublin, looking for adventure (and trouble, should it cross their path). After the latest of a series of stays behind bars, Neal finds his way back North with several goals in mind. He wants to see the child he fathered, who was born while he was in stir. He wants to visit his father, who has a severe drinking problem, and his mother, who became a lesbian after breaking up with his dad. He hopes to pay his respects at the grave of the horse he once loved. And he's also keen on getting revenge against the drug dealer whose testimony put him behind bars, as well as the police who confiscated his club's horses. Crush Proof was shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darren Healy, Jeff O'Toole, (more)
One of the Catholic Church's most infamous institutions is the focus of this controversial independent feature from Scottish actor and erstwhile director Peter Mullan. Set in 1964, The Magdalene Sisters hones in on the Magdalene convent, a place where purportedly wayward young women have been sent by their families for reform. Many of the girls are locked up in the institution for questionable "sins," and the movie presents several of them as case studies: Margaret (Anne-Marie Duff), who is sent away after being sexually assaulted by a cousin at a wedding; Rose (Dorothy Duffy) and Crispina (Eileen Walsh), who are both unwed mothers; and Bernadette (Nora-Jane Noone), whose licentiousness has raised the ire of her former orphanage. It soon becomes clear that the reformatory is more of a manual-labor prison, however, as their girls are forced to work long hours and endure endless physical humiliation and abuse at the hands of the head nun, Sister Bridget (Geraldine McEwan). As their degradation at the hands of the convent's administrators increases, each girl plots her escape, but each finds that she's never far enough from the sisters' all-encompassing reach. The Magdalene Sisters premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it was awarded the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion; the Vatican officially condemned the film after its premiere. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne-Marie Duff, Dorothy Duffy, (more)
- 2007
A recently released ex-con whose gambling problem previously landed him behind bars forms a close-knit bond with a guarded illegal immigrant in Irish director Liam O. Mochain's entry into the 2007 Montreal World Film Festival. Having skimmed from the till of the family bar a few times too often, Jack Watts was eventually reported to the police by his father. Upon being released Jack is informed that if he wishes to get back in the good graces of his family, he can take the position of toilet attendant until his debts are paid off and he has proven himself trustworthy. In the meantime, ladies' restroom toilet attendant Katya will show Jack the ropes. While Jack feels trapped in his job do to his lingering family debts, Katya's options are likewise limited due to her status as an illegal immigrant. In Katya's experiences, everyone who has ever shown her any modicum of respect has done so out of purely selfish motivations. But Jack is different, and over the course of the next few weeks these two lost souls will both discover that the factors that bond them together far outnumber the differences that would push them apart. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam O Mochain, Julia Wakeham, (more)
