John Kavanagh

Deliverance and Tailor of Panama director John Boorman returns to the director's chair for this tale of a hawkish businessman who slowly finds his life being taken over by the twin brother he never knew he had. Liam O'Leary (Brendan Gleeson) is a no-nonsense real-estate developer who isn't above greasing the politician's wheels a bit to get the permits he needs. His 20-year marriage to Jane (Kim Cattrall) has been stale for over a decade, and his adolescent son, Connor (Brian Gleeson), has most recently taken to communism as a means of showcasing his rebellious streak. Though Liam still dotes on his aging mother (Moira Deady), it's plain to see that his sister, Oona (Sinéad Cusack), is the favored child in the family. One day, stuck in traffic on the way home from work and frustrated at his inability to obtain planning permission for a multi-million pound stadium, Liam is shocked to see his spitting image approach his car and begin cleaning the windshield while begging for change. Now, after discovering that he was not only adopted but has an identical twin as well, Liam finds his life rapidly being taken over by a cunning doppelganger who has had enough of life on the streets, and has finally found a means of turning his luck around by simply stepping into the shoes of his more successful counterpart. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The fourth film to chronicle the life of fourth-century B.C. ruler Alexander the Great, Oliver Stone's Alexander stars Colin Farrell as the titular Macedonian conqueror. The film follows the young king as he leads his forces on a bloody empirical conquest across the known world, taking large parts of Asia and the Middle East to amass a giant empire, all by the time he turned 25. Anthony Hopkins co-stars as Ptolemy I along with Rosario Dawson as Roxane, Angelina Jolie as Olympias, Jared Leto as Hephaistion, Val Kilmer as King Philip II, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Cassander. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Paul Quinn scripted and made his directorial debut with this period drama about middle-aged schoolteacher Kieran Johnson (James Caan), who finds evidence indicating that his real father was an Irish farmer and not a French seaman as he had been told. Since his mute and paralyzed mother offers no answers, he investigates by traveling to an Irish village with his teenage nephew (Jacob Tierney). After this prologue, the film flashes back to the family roots: Kieran's mother Fiona Flynn (Moya Farrelly) back home from convent school, catches the eye of dirt tenant farmer Kieran O'Day (Aidan Quinn). Their romance gets underway despite disapprovals from family and friends. Shown at 1998 film fests (Montreal, Toronto). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Helen Mirren played the title character in the two-part British miniseries Painted Lady. In the throes of poverty and drug abuse, Irish folk singer Maggie Sheridan (Mirren) pulled herself together when her wealthy and well-connected landlord was murdered and robbed of several valuable works of art. Posing as an art dealer, Maggie not only wreaked vengeance upon the thieves, but also had time left over for a torrid interracial romance. And, as a bonus, the heroine ended up a Countess, no less. Debuting over British television on December 7, 1997, Painted Lady made its American TV bow on April 26, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-cable drama concerns political unrest and personal crises set against the battle for a free Ireland in Belfast in 1983. Gingy McAnally (Anthony Brophy) is a member of the Irish Republican Army who, after serving a stretch in prison, is once again called upon by the IRA to work with them. While McAnally is not certain if he wants to get involved with "the troubles" again, he grudgingly agrees after the safety of his wife and children is threatened by IRA henchmen. However, McAnally is soon busted by Lt. David Ferris (Cary Elwes), a British army officer, and is ruthlessly interrogated by Chief Inspector Rennie (Timothy Dalton), one of the leaders of the Belfast Police who is determined to put the rebels out of business. Rennie convinces McAnally that his only hope is to admit to everything he knows about the IRA and its members; McAnally sheepishly goes along with Rennie's demands, and in time, he strikes up a friendship with Ferris. However, McAnally discovers that betraying the IRA has put his life in grave danger; just as significantly, his wife and family are no longer sure that they can trust him after he turns in his comrades. ~ Mark Deming, 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

In the Irish town of Kilshannon in the 1920s, a matriarchal clique of widows tightly sets the rules for behavior. Heading the town's ruling circle is the doughty Mrs. Counihan (Joan Plowright). The only non-widow in town is a reclusive middle-aged spinster, Miss O'Hare (Mia Farrow), who seems to be guarding some kind of secret. Crashing into this provincial coterie is dashing, urbane Edwina Broome (Natasha Richardson), who immediately starts feuding with O'Hare, for no apparent good reason. Broome mangles O'Hare's prize roses and bumps her skiff in a boat race. Counihan's dimwitted son, Godfrey (Adrian Dunbar), proposes marriage to Edwina. Eventually, the true motives of all involved are revealed. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Mike Newell directs Jim Sheridan's screenplay (based on a story by Tim Palmer) in this enchanting and magical modern-day fairy tale. Gabriel Byrne plays Papa Reilly, a widower who lives with his two young sons, Ossie (Ciaran Fitzgerald) and Tito (Ruaidhri Conroy), in the slums of Dublin. There seems to be no hope for their bleak existence until the children's grandfather (David Kelly) arrives. Accompanying him is a beautiful and imposing white stallion named Tir na nOg, a magical creature from ancient Irish legends. The stallion takes a shine to the boys and they love the horse in return. But a legion of corrupt police plot to impound the horse for the purpose of selling it to a rich businessman. Ossie and Tito sneak off to rescue Tir na nOg. Grabbing the stallion, they get their father and, as the police chase after them, they make their way west. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A young girl has ambitions that lead her away from her small Irish village. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

In this suspenseful thriller, some unknown man out there has a warped mind, a warped view of sex, and an urge to kill in a very specific way. An innocent yet seductive country woman named Patricia Telling (Moira Harris) moves into a new apartment building in Dublin, where a serial killer seems to have her in his sights. The killer's m.o. is to call a woman on the phone and charm her into inviting him over. Once he's alone with her, he murders her after stripping her naked and putting her body in a certain pose. Several men are suspect because of their odd behavior: Robert (John Cavanaugh), a colleague and teacher at Patricia's school; Danny (Timothy Bottoms), who lives in the building with his wife, and the police inspector McMyler (Christopher Casenove). The question is: will the murderer will be identified before Patricia is the next victim? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The 1950s in Ireland comes alive in the transformation of two "country girls" from Irish schoolchildren in a strict convent to teenagers needing to get away from their families. The teens escape to the big city, and the contrast to their past is handled with both pathos and humor. The two leads are excellently interpreted by (Maeve Germaine and Jill Doyle). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The McKenzie Break is an unusual POW escape drama in that the would-be escapees are German prisoners, held in a Scottish camp. When a Luftwaffe pilot is murdered in the compound, British major Ian Hendrey investigates. He suspects that the killing is tied in with a complex escape plan, engineered by German commander Helmut Griem. Before the inevitable break, the prisoners form into the sort of separate factions and pressure groups that fomented the Nazi upheaval in Germany in the first place. Based on a novel by Sidney Shelley, The McKenzie Break was actually filmed in Ireland rather than Scotland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide