Ian McElhinney Movies

Sixty-five years after making his screen debut as a young stoker in co-directors Noël Coward and David Lean's World War II drama In Which We Serve, Richard Attenborough perfects the balance between epic story and intimate tale with this drama starring Shirley MacLaine and Neve Campbell as a mother and daughter who find a relic from the past sparking an incendiary series of events. The year is 1991, and as a small American town mourns the passing of beloved World War II veteran Chuck Harris, his wife Ethel (MacLaine) numbs herself with alcohol to the point where she completely neglects her grieving daughter Marie (Campbell). Later, after Marie receives a telephone call from a boy in Northern Ireland who claims to have recently discovered a ring belonging to Ethel, a mystery nearly five decades in the making comes slowly into focus as the story drifts back into Chuck's wartime past and the days when he and Ethel first formed their powerful bond. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

On the eve of near-future Northern Ireland's first general election, well-marketed reformer Michael Brinn (Robert Lindsay), a shoo-in for prime minister, has newspaper columnist Dan Starkey's dander up. Working the election beat alongside visiting Boston Globe writer Charles Parker (Richard Gant), Starkey (David Thewlis) watches his pointed barbs slide off Brinn's Teflon-coated backside. Drowning his troubles in drink in a Belfast park, Starkey invites beautiful art student Margaret (Laura Fraser) to a friend's party, unaware of her ties to both the IRA and to Brinn's political party. When Starkey's wife (Laine Megaw) catches him canoodling with Margaret, she kicks Starkey out and he ends up in Margaret's bed. When the girl turns up mortally wounded a mere day later, mouthing the words "divorcing Jack" just before her death rattle, Starkey finds himself a suspect in the murder. Donning a ridiculous wig and going on the lam, he must fend off a nationwide manhunt while tracing the connection between Margaret's death and the upcoming election. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, this British/French co-production marked director David Caffrey's feature debut. Irish writer Colin Bateman adapted his own novel, one of several to feature Starkey as a protagonist. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

The British series Wokenwell had something in common with the whimsical small-town saga Ballykissangel, albeit with a more bizarre and supernatural edge. The series took place in the tiny rural community mentioned in the title, with dramatic emphasis on Wokenwall's three chief law enforcers: PC Brian Rainford (Jason Done), PC Rudy Whiteside (Nicholas Gleaves), and Sgt. Duncan Bonney (Ian McElhinney). The trio was perennially baffled and flustered by the weird goings-on in the community, but the cops weren't anywhere near as perplexed as their long-suffering wives, respectively Fran Rainford (Nicola Stephenson), Lucky Whiteside (Lesley Dunlop), and June Bonney (Celia Imrie). The first of the six hour-long Wokenwell episodes was seen on May 18, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

Gillies MacKinnon directed this charming Irish romance, taking place in a small Irish village in 1957, just before the first television set makes an appearance in this conservative hamlet. There is a scandal in the village concerning the beautiful and independent Tara Maguire (Robin Wright) -- Tara is pregnant and refuses to identify the father. She goes into labor during Sunday Mass, which raises the ire of the parish priest (Alan Devlin), who thinks God will bring bad times down on the village for Tara's effrontery. The priest feels Tara should marry the local town constable, Sgt. Hagerty (Albert Finney), a dyspeptic reformed alcoholic who is in love with Tara. But she doesn't love Hagerty. This becomes particularly clear when a traveling band of actors known as the Playboys come into town. One of the players in the troupe, Tom Casey (Aidan Quinn), is caught by Tara stealing one of her chickens. But it is love at first sight, although it takes a while for their attraction to take root beyond some electric glances. Hagerty sees where the relationship is going and he is determined to undermine the burgeoning affair. Tara is wary and doesn't want to be dependent upon any man, even to the point of smuggling supplies to the Irish Republican Army. When Hagerty hears someone in the village is colluding with the IRA, he suspects Tom and throws him in jail. But Hagerty is a walking time bomb and finally his rage erupts with violent force. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This five-part British drama series starred Nigel Terry as John Fairling, a special investigator for the Home Office. It was Fairling's task to track down a renegade research psychologist who harbored a yen for all things electronic. The villain intended to infect all communications in the U.K. with a vicious computer virus -- but not if Fairling was able to de-bug the bugger. An early example of the TV techno-thriller genre, Wipe Out first aired in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sylvestra Le Touzel stars in Naming the Names. Le Touzel portrays Finn McQuillen, a political activist at large in contemporary Belfast. Her devotion to her nationalistic cause results in betrayal and tragedy. Though described tersely as a "crime drama" in most TV listings, the film is thought-provoking enough to transcend its genre. Made for British TV in 1987, Naming the Names premiered in America in March of 1988 through the facilities of the A&E cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though geared for children, the Irish End of the World Man contains a cautionary lesson with grim underpinnings. Leanne O'Malley plays a hoydenish young conservationist anxious to save the last tree on earth, which stands in the middle of a Belfast playground. The government wants to bulldoze the tree and cover the playground with concrete in order to erect a highrise. The neighborhood children rally around Leanne to prevent this ecological rape from transpiring. End of the World Man proves that it's no mere Saturday morning filler by setting its story in a strife-torn Belfast, festooned with weapons and security police. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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