Brid Brennan Movies

Directed by Atom Egoyan, Felicia's Journey is a low-key psychological thriller about the relationship between a lovesick young woman and an older man with an ugly secret. Felicia (Elaine Cassidy) has lived all of her life in a small village in rural Ireland. She has fallen in love with a boy named Johnny (Peter McDonald), so when Johnny unexpectedly travels to England in search of a job, Felicia wants to follow him -- especially since she's pregnant, a fact that she's keeping secret from her family, as well as Johnny. However, Johnny's family refuses to give her his address, so she leaves for Birmingham with only a sketchy idea of his whereabouts. Shortly after arriving, Felicia encounters Joseph Ambrose Hilditch (Bob Hoskins), the meticulous manager of a catering concern. She needs a place to stay and he recommends a good bed-and-breakfast. They soon become friendly, but Hilditch is more than just a mildly eccentric middle-aged man with a taste for French cuisine: he's had a long history of using and abusing homeless women, and Felicia looks like she's doomed to be the next victim. Based on a novel by William Trevor, Felicia's Journey was shown in competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This arty British effort attempts to pay homage to distinguished and fanciful French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery via a sort of tone poem. Those familiar with the writer's work will get the most from this film as it does not contain any excerpts from the writer's work. The film, though not a documentary, does contain interviews from those who knew and loved Saint-Exupery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV romance is a reworking of the legend of King Arthur's queen and tells how she forsook her real love and married Arthur in order to bring England together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The setting of Mike Leigh's Four Days in July is Belfast in the mid-'80s, just before the annual July 12th march of The Orangemen to celebrate the 17th century victory of the Protestant William of Orange over the Catholic King John II. Two couples prepare to have their first child. Collette (Brid Brennan) and Eugene (Desmond McAleer) are Catholic, while Lorraine (Paula Hamilton) and Billy (Charles Lawson) are Protestant. Eugene is injured and awaiting a disability check, so he has time to dote on his pregnant wife. Billy is in the military, and when he's not manning checkpoints, he hangs out with his fellow soldiers, Big Billy (Brian Hogg) and Little Billy (Adrian Gordon). On the 11th, as the celebrations and bonfires are being prepared, Brendan (Shane Connaughton, who later co-wrote the script for My Left Foot) comes by to fix Collette and Eugene's toilet. Then an old friend of Brendan's, Dixie (Stephen Rea), comes by to clean the building's windows. The four of them sit around for a while and chat. The upcoming marches are a sore spot that is briefly alluded to, and Eugene reveals that his injuries were suffered at the hands of the British military. Lorraine goes with Billy to a bonfire, where there's drinking, singing, and high spirits. The next morning, both women go into labor and are brought to the same hospital. In the waiting room, Eugene strikes up a conversation with Billy. Four Days in July was the last film Leigh made for the BBC and one of the first films scored by composer Rachel Portman. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

John Boorman directed this gloriously savage interpretation of Arthurian legend loosely based on Thomas Malory's novel Le Morte d'Arthur. By turns gleaming and filthy, tender and bloody, the film is a visually stunning epic which is never less than compelling. Nigel Terry is perfectly cast as Arthur, whose unwavering trust and faith are shown to be both quietly heroic and achingly naïve. Interestingly, the quest for the Grail is the least effective part of the film, despite bold cinematography by Alex Thomson (who was nominated for an Oscar) and a fine performance by Paul Geoffrey as Perceval, whose greatest desire is attained in his dying sight. It is the scenes of Camelot in which Boorman is at his most effective, as Arthur is betrayed by the burning passions of Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi) and Lancelot (Nicholas Clay), whose boiling internal forces cannot be denied, whatever the cost. The wicked Mordred (Robert Addie) and Morgana (Helen Mirren) are commanding when onscreen, and Nicol Williamson's performance as the grandiosely self-sacrificing Merlin is outstanding. Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart also appear in this dense, passionate, and stirring triumph featuring a marvelous Trevor Jones score. The gruesome effects by Peter Hutchinson and Alan Whibley, however, and sights such as a knight having sex in full body armor make this a fairy tale strictly for adults. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide