Aine Ni Mhuiri Movies
- 2002
Based on the best-selling novel by Irish comedian Spike Milligan, Puckoon is a political satire about a town cut in half by the partitioning of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1924. The action takes place in a town known as Puckoon where an ordinary fellow named Dan Madigan wakes up one day to find barbed-wire fences running right through his neighbors' houses. All at once, Madigan's friends begin altering their personalities to suit the side of the fence they've found themselves on. So it's up to Madigan, the last sane man in town, to restore order. Originally written in 1963, Puckoon is considered the forerunner of anti-humor comedy which became the staple of shows like Monty Python and Saturday Night Live. ~ Connor McMadden, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Hughes, Elliott Gould, (more)
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Albert Finney, Aidan Quinn, (more)
Richard Harris was nominated for several awards (including the Oscar and Golden Globe) for his performance in The Field. The time is the mid-1930s; the place, western Ireland. For many years rugged individualist Bull McCabe (Harris) has been cultivating a small plot of rented land, nurturing it from barren rock into a fertile field. Now, however, the widow who owns the land plans to sell it at auction. The infuriated Bull shows up at the bidding, secure in his belief that none of his neighbors will dare bid against him. But Bull has not taken into consideration a wealthy Irish-American (Tom Berenger), who intends to pave over the land and bring new industry to the area. "This is deep, very deep, deeper than you think" warns Bull, as he sends his grown son (Sean Bean) to "persuade" the American to withdraw his bid. Armed with the foreknowledge that Bull's tenacity has caused heartbreak and tragedy in the past, the audience steels itself for the awful consequences still to come. Punctuating the storyline are the periodic appearances of the toothless village idiot, played by John Hurt. Originally produced for British television, The Field was based on the landmark play by John B. Keane, and directed by My Left Foot's Jim Sheridan. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Harris, John Hurt, (more)
- 1987
- R
Judith Hearne (Maggie Smith) is a middle-aged "maiden lady" piano teacher living in 1950s Dublin. Timid and self-deprecating, Judith permits herself to yearn over her new boarding-house neighbor, hotel entrepreneur Bob Hoskins. Hoskins thinks that Judith has enough money to bankroll his latest scheme, so he decides to return her affections. Judith, blind to Hoskin's duplicity, convinces herself that she's finally found true love. The shattering of her illusions drives Judith to drink--and, unexpectedly, to a more fulfilling new life. Based on the novel by Brian Moore, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne is typical of the "muted emotion" ouevre of director Jack Clayton. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maggie Smith, Bob Hoskins, (more)
