Philip Barantini Movies
Gregor Jordan's version of the Australian legend Ned Kelly stars Heath Ledger as the title outlaw. Sixteen-year-old Irish immigrant Ned is sentenced to three years in prison for stealing a horse. After his release he finds work tending to horses owned by Richard Cook (Nicholas Bell), whose wife (Naomi Watts) grows interested in Ned. Fitzpatrick (Kiri Paramore) is a police officer with a yen for Ned's sister Kate (Kerry Condon). When she rejects him, Fitzpatrick steals the family's animals. The brothers are falsely accused of a crime and go into hiding, leading to the assault and arrest of their beloved mother. Francis Hare (Geoffrey Rush) is eventually brought on to stop the gang that becomes famous after a string of bank robberies. The film also features Orlando Bloom (of Lord of the Rings fame) and Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under). The most recent version of this oft-filmed tale featured Mick Jagger as the infamous Kelly in 1970. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, (more)
- 2003
- NR
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British filmmaker John Irvin directs the musical comedy drama The Boys From County Clare. Set in the late '60s, the story involves a pair of rival brothers reuniting for the All-Ireland Traditional Music Competition in County Clare, Ireland. As defending champion John Joe (Bernard Hill) gets his local Celtic band ready to compete, his estranged brother, Jimmy (Colm Meaney), blows into town from Liverpool with his own band. John Joe's pianist, Maisie (Charlotte Bradley), isn't happy to see Jimmy, who had left her years ago to raise their daughter, Anne, all by herself. Now the town's star fiddle player, Anne (Andrea Corr of the Irish pop group the Corrs) goes against her mother's wishes in order to seek romance with Jimmy's flute player Teddy (Shaun Evans). The Boys From County Clare was shown at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colm Meaney, Bernard Hill, (more)
Scottish filmmaker Gillies MacKinnon directs the revenge thriller The Escapist. Escaped convict Ricky Barnes (Andy Serkis, Gollom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) breaks into the house of commercial pilot Denis (Jonny Lee Miller) and kills his pregnant wife, Valerie (Paloma Baeza). The baby survives but Denis is too distraught to care for it, so relative Christine (Jodhi May) steps in to take over the parenting duties. Denis then stages an elaborate plan of revenge by faking his own death and turning into a criminal. After being caught and convicted, he makes several failed attempts at escaping prison in an effort to mimic his enemy, Ricky. Denis is taken to increasingly higher security prisons until he is at the same one as Ricky, leading to a violent conclusion. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonny Lee Miller, Andy Serkis, (more)
