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Editorial Reviews
Review
"You do NOT want to miss this film." "...one of the best movies of the year." --Boston Now
"...hints of greatness...Gann is a filmmaker to watch." "Marbled with thoughtful observations..." "...a fine study in everyday heroism." --Robert Koehler, Variety
"...a great movie with a fantastic cast of actors..." --Dan Deevy, The Cinema Source
"...hints of greatness...Gann is a filmmaker to watch." "Marbled with thoughtful observations..." "...a fine study in everyday heroism." --Robert Koehler, Variety
"...a great movie with a fantastic cast of actors..." --Dan Deevy, The Cinema Source
Product Description
A powerful, "fine study of everyday heroism" (VARIETY) and featuring brilliant performances by an all-star cast, Black Irish is haunting and unforgettable. In South Boston, where Irish roots run deep and Catholic tradition reigns, two brothers face similar hardships but lead far different lives. While older brother Terry descends into drugs and crime, 16-year-old Cole (Michael Angarano) vies to make the state baseball championships--but must struggle to withstand his brother's destructive influence. When the two inevitably clash in a life-and-death confrontation, family ties--and futures--are at stake. DVD FEATURES include a Behind the Scenes of Black Irish and a Commentary Track.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
BLACK IRISH is one of those little Independent films that manage to give more to the audience than the extreme constrictions of time and budget would suggest. Writer/director Brad Gunn (his first film) manages to tell a story about an Irish family from South Boston that is sincere, realistic, poignant, and profound, and though he worked with a small budget and a shooting schedule of 22 days, he has produced a fine little gem of a film.
The McKay family has problems: father Desmond (Brendan Glesson) lacks work and spends most of his time drinking beer and watching baseball on TV, having been a promising baseball player as a youngster but nipped by the Vietnam War into glum lethargy; mother Margaret (Melissa Leo) resents the shadow of the man she married and works as a social worker to support her family; daughter Kathleen (Emily VanKamp) is pregnant, unwed, and when denied the choice of abortion by her mother's strong Catholicism is determined to have the child by herself, giving it the loving home she feels she has been denied; son Terry (Tom Guiry) is a tortured delinquent who is a gang member and always in conflict with the law; and youngest son Cole (the excellent young 20-year-old Michael Angarano of 'One Last Thing', 'Man in the Chair', 'Snow Angels', 'Lords of Dogtown', 'Seabiscuit', etc) is conflicted by wanting to be a priest versus wanting to be a professional baseball player - he is the good kid and the last hope of his parents.
Terry tricks Cole into accompanying a house break-in and the trouble begins. The financial crisis at home drives Cole to get a job in a restaurant, and drives Desmond to menial work shining shoes. The family will support Kathleen's pregnancy, but that strips the income to the point that Cole must leave his Catholic school to be in public school, and while that seems to dash his hopes for a career in baseball, the coach at his public school (Finn Curtin) acknowledges Cole's talent and promises a future. Terry's lifestyle as a hoodlum presents increasing problems and at one point Cole gathers the courage to confront Terry during a robbery plot at Cole's work place and Terry is seriously wounded. We discover a hidden fact about Desmond that explains some of his sociopath behavior to his family and it is this discovery, coinciding with Terry's gunshot injury and Kathleen's tough life as an unwed working pregnant girl, that pulls the family unit back together.
If the plot sound like soap opera rest assured it is not. This is an intensely realistic examination of a fragile Irish Catholic family striving to makes sense of a world that is increasingly chaotic. All of the actors are excellent, but the extraordinary sensitivity and skill of young Michael Angarano make this a film to cherish. And Brad Gann is assuredly a talent to watch! Very highly recommended. Grady Harp, January 08
The McKay family has problems: father Desmond (Brendan Glesson) lacks work and spends most of his time drinking beer and watching baseball on TV, having been a promising baseball player as a youngster but nipped by the Vietnam War into glum lethargy; mother Margaret (Melissa Leo) resents the shadow of the man she married and works as a social worker to support her family; daughter Kathleen (Emily VanKamp) is pregnant, unwed, and when denied the choice of abortion by her mother's strong Catholicism is determined to have the child by herself, giving it the loving home she feels she has been denied; son Terry (Tom Guiry) is a tortured delinquent who is a gang member and always in conflict with the law; and youngest son Cole (the excellent young 20-year-old Michael Angarano of 'One Last Thing', 'Man in the Chair', 'Snow Angels', 'Lords of Dogtown', 'Seabiscuit', etc) is conflicted by wanting to be a priest versus wanting to be a professional baseball player - he is the good kid and the last hope of his parents.
Terry tricks Cole into accompanying a house break-in and the trouble begins. The financial crisis at home drives Cole to get a job in a restaurant, and drives Desmond to menial work shining shoes. The family will support Kathleen's pregnancy, but that strips the income to the point that Cole must leave his Catholic school to be in public school, and while that seems to dash his hopes for a career in baseball, the coach at his public school (Finn Curtin) acknowledges Cole's talent and promises a future. Terry's lifestyle as a hoodlum presents increasing problems and at one point Cole gathers the courage to confront Terry during a robbery plot at Cole's work place and Terry is seriously wounded. We discover a hidden fact about Desmond that explains some of his sociopath behavior to his family and it is this discovery, coinciding with Terry's gunshot injury and Kathleen's tough life as an unwed working pregnant girl, that pulls the family unit back together.
If the plot sound like soap opera rest assured it is not. This is an intensely realistic examination of a fragile Irish Catholic family striving to makes sense of a world that is increasingly chaotic. All of the actors are excellent, but the extraordinary sensitivity and skill of young Michael Angarano make this a film to cherish. And Brad Gann is assuredly a talent to watch! Very highly recommended. Grady Harp, January 08
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a gut wrenching yet heartwarming story with superb acting by most of the cast - real to life. Highly recommended.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By sixstring
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
i consider this to be one of the better films i have seen in quite some time. such a good mix of bright and dark, humour and pathos as real life is.
the bid with the bird flying into the window is worth watching the movie even if you don't like the rest of it.
the bid with the bird flying into the window is worth watching the movie even if you don't like the rest of it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Black Irish DVD
Black Irish movie shows the disfunction that exist within a family among each member. Yet in the end the family structure must not loose it's foundation of love even when going... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Iceman
3.0 out of 5 stars
CRY LIKE A GIRL, DRINK LIKE A MAN
This is a film about family drama with a little bit of humor tossed in. The movie appears to have all the pieces of a decent film, yet afterwards, I couldn't help but think, "Is... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Michael
3.0 out of 5 stars
CRY LIKE A GIRL, DRINK LIKE A MAN
This is a film about family drama with a little bit of humor tossed in. The movie appears to have all the pieces of a decent film, yet afterwards, I couldn't help but think, "Is... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Michael
2.0 out of 5 stars
just ok
This was just ok, not that great. The father's acting was good. The bad brother's acting was good. Everyone else was kind of forget-able..
Published 12 months ago by missc1115
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Sacred and the Secular
"Black Irish" is a captivating, moving, faithfully rendered, coming of age story set in south Boston. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Tim Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars
This was a great film
Short Attention Span Summary:
1. There is a stereotyped White Trash Irish-American family (the mother is apparently native-born Irish).
2. Read more
1. There is a stereotyped White Trash Irish-American family (the mother is apparently native-born Irish).
2. Read more
Published on February 6, 2011 by Lemas Mitchell
5.0 out of 5 stars
a really good surprise
Wow! Black Irish is a lost masterpiece in the world of drama films. It's about an Irish family that moves to Boston, and while there, each of the five family members (a father,... Read more
Published on July 31, 2010 by B. E Jackson
4.0 out of 5 stars
CAIN AND ABEL!
'Black Irish' is a pretty straightforward film with believable performances by all. The tale of a lower class Irish family with more than its share of turmoil and sorrows keeps... Read more
Published on June 15, 2010 by ! MR. KNOW IT ALL ;-b
5.0 out of 5 stars
KUDOS FOR THIS INDIE FILM
tHIS is a beautifully crafted film. I understand it was made in 22 days. Clearly small budget, but not small scope, poignancy, or amatuerish. Read more
Published on December 5, 2009 by Sidney B. Simon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Black Irish
Thought this was a well done movie. A real American story of Family and not Fantasy.Little known actors that deliver big. Read more
Published on August 29, 2009 by JB
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