It's a feel good story, a David vs. Goliath parable and an emotional drama about a father's love for his children.  But, what's truly amazing is that this screenplay is based on real events, including a legal battle that broke a stranglehold by the 1950s Irish theocracy on its populace.

I sat down to watch a simple drama about an Irish family with a little girl named Evelyn, but I was treated to a view of the past and a revolution against the interwoven structure of the Irish State and the dominate Catholic Church.  And this was instigated by one blue-collar father's love of family and his perseverance.  Yes, it's a powerful heartfelt tale, but it was also a pivotal event in Irish history.

The venue is Dublin, circa 1953.  Desmond Doyle, an out-of-work painter-decorator with three children, is deserted by his wife.  The oldest child, Evelyn, witnesses her mother leaving and becomes a key part of subsequent events.  Hopefully, what happened to Doyle's family can't happen in today's world, but I'm not sure.  Regardless, it's a dramatic lesson in the value of the separation of church and state.

Pierce Brosnan accomplishes the best acting I've seen from him playing Desmond, the father.  Brosnan was chosen because of his likeness to photographs of the real Desmond Doyle provided by his daughter Evelyn.  Some interesting synchronicity: Brosnan was born in Ireland in the year these events took place, 1953 and he was left a single father with three children (like Doyle) for the ten years following the death of his first wife.  Brosnan's fame has been associated with his James Bond roles, Golden Eye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).  I considered his performances to be flat and uninteresting in these films, possibly because I always compared him to Sean Connery as Bond in Never Say Never Again (1983).  Regardless, I believe he has come of age as an actor in this role as the father of Evelyn, Dermot and Maurice. 

The genesis of this film is filled with serendipity.  Paul Pender, one of the writers for the Cadfael series that starred Derek Jacobi, met Evelyn who asked him why no one had ever made a movie of this story.  That prompted him to write the screenplay.  How it became a movie is more than I can relate here but it's included in The Story Behind the Story in the Special Features under a category called Featurettes on the DVD.

Sophie Vavasseur plays Evelyn with all the poise of a seasoned actress although she was only ten years old at the time and it was her first film.  Unfortunately, she recites a prayer on the witness stand that was uncharacteristic for a child, much too adult in its phrasing and too carefully rehearsed to ever be considered spontaneous.  It's the only klinker I identified in the whole screenplay.  This was the writer's & director's problem and not hers.  She did quite well.

An excellent support cast contributed to the quality of the film.  Doyle's legal team was made up of actors Alan Bates, Aidan Quinn and Stephen Rea.  As a side note, Quinn's sister played one of the nuns.

Reviewed June 5, 2005                            Copyright 2005 Charles T. Markee

MPAA: Rated PG for thematic material and language.