Frank McCourt Movies

Angela's Ashes author Frank McCourt hosts this PBS documentary look at the history of Dublin, Ireland, as specifically filtered through the history of its various pubs. The program backtracks hundreds of years prior to the early 21st century, and ultimately expands its focus beyond Irish taverns, teaching the audience about such facets of Dublin as parks, tourist hotspots and much more, including the city's finest restaurants. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Filmmakers Pippa Scott and Oreet Rees explore the reprehensible legacy of Belgium's King Leopold II in this documentary adaptation of Adam Hochschild's best-selling book. His envy growing as powerful neighbors France, England, and the Netherlands began claiming valuable African coastal land in order to access a variety of precious resources, Leopold eventually opted to follow the path carved out by explorer Henry Morgan Stanley that led directly into the heart of the Congo. An agent for private interests whose primary goal it was to build routes out of the Congo so that the valuable resources could be exported back to Europe, Stanley achieved his goal by utilizing forced labor and effectively militarizing what was previously a land of tribal alliances. With Leopold's grip on the region gradually tightening until it became, for all intents and purposes, his own private reserve, the devious ruler would subsequently launch a successful public relationship campaign stressing that his enterprise was both humane and anti-slavery oriented. Narrated by a series of experts and actors who include Don Cheadle, James Cromwell, and Alfie Woodard, Scott and Rees' film eventually turns its attentions towards contemporary events that chillingly recall Leopold's notorious endeavor. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Directed by Colum McCann and Michael Carty, Beautiful Kid follows the lives of three kids growing up working-class Irish in the Bronx. Sean (Dan Brennan) loathes his alcoholic father, and doesn't harbor much affection for his brothers, who are alcoholics themselves. Sean, however, doesn't see the pattern in front of him and spends most of his free time abusing alcohol and drugs with his friends, Rock (Javier Pire) and Bridgette (Christie Myers). Though the group occasionally vows to straighten themselves out before they hit 30, nothing in the way of change occurs until Sean finds out that his former high-school crush (Kate Forsatz) managed to leave the neighborhood and its demons for a more lucrative lifestyle in San Francisco. Inspired, Sean decides to change his ways. Though Sean has a baby with Bridgette (Myers) and appears to reconcile with his father, alcohol and drugs still threaten the future of everyone involved. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

The Irish...And How They Got That Way is a video recording of a stage production by Frank McCourt, the celebrated author of Angela's Ashes, at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York. The two-hour-long show features five performers (one of them McCourt's niece) celebrating the Irish-American immigrant experience in word and music against the backdrop of a historical sideshow. Act I recounts British oppression of the Irish, culminating in the Potato Famine and waves of mass immigration to the United States. Act II focuses on the Irish contribution to American society as fighters in the Civil War, martyrs in the labor movement, as entertainers, and as statesmen. Fans of Frank McCourt will appreciate the trademark humor and irreverence that flows throughout, a quality that seems to be the major strength of what would otherwise be a run-of-the-mill performance piece. ~ Connor McMadden, All Movie Guide

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir by Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes is an alternately funny and heartbreaking look at growing up in Ireland. Born in Brooklyn, NY, young Frank (Joe Breen) moves at an early age to Limerick, Ireland, with his parents Angela (Emily Watson) and Malachy (Robert Carlyle), who have been unable to support their family in America and are hoping for better prospects in their home country. But things hardly improve once they settle in Limerick; as McCourt puts it, "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood. Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Illness and death are commonplace in Limerick, and Malachy's drinking and inability to hold a job make matters worse. Angela's Ashes was directed by Alan Parker, who previously looked at Irish life in The Commitments (1991); Laura Jones wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide