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Special Features
- "The Story Behind the Story" featurette
- Behind-the-scenes featurette
- Photo gallery
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For "Evelyn", Pierce Brosnan goes back to his Irish roots and does a good job in an atypical role for him. Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn and Alan Bates are all convincing as lawyers of very different personalities and experience, who nonetheless find themselves in sympathy with Desmond Doyle and working together on a seemingly impossible task. Sophie Vavasseur, the young actress who plays Evelyn, does so with just the right amount of pluck and innocence. Although "Evelyn" is about a court case, it is not a courtroom drama. There is relatively little time allotted to courtroom scenes. The relationships between the characters and the ways in which they are affected by their unfortunate circumstances are emphasized over the legal intricacies of the case. All in all, "Evelyn " is a touching and entertaining true story of a parent's commitment to his children, whose own willingness to change out of love for them ultimately brought about legal changes that helped many children in similar circumstances.
The movie is based on the true story of Desmond Doyle, who forever changed the laws in Ireland in 1953 by proving that the Children's Act of 1942 worked against the unalienable rights granted to parents and children in the Irish constitution. Of course, liberties with the film have been taken along the way, but the love that Doyle had for his children, and they for him, comes through loud and clear.
Kudos goes to Sophie Vavasseur, Hugh McDonagh, and Niall Beagan who play the Doyle children, Sophie, Maurice and Dermott. These children performed their roles very well, and are always a welcome addition to the scenes they are in.
Sophie Vavasseur could have played up being cute, or played up being a brat with the nuns, but she, like the adults around her, goes for natural style. She plays Evelyn as a real child, and in doing so, makes that character all the more real to the audience.
Credit too goes to the adults around them, who allowed these kids to be actors, without fear of the scenes being stolen by them. And speaking of those adults:
The Catholic Church: My one quibble with this film is how the Christian Brothers are portrayed. One could walk away from this film thinking that the Christian Brothers were good and the nuns were bad. Not so, they all stunk. Never the less, the interaction at the convent, rings true of behavior by those employed by the church then, and sadly, now.
Frank Kelly: Playing Henry Doyle, the father of Desmond and grandfather to the children, Kelly does an excellent job capturing the heart of man who loves his family dearly and does what he can to support all of them, while he is with them, and while he is not.
Eileen Colgan: She had the difficult task of playing the children's maternal grandmother. She is witchy enough in the beginning, but as she sees how her actions have truly hurt her grandchildren, she supports Desmond in his fight to get the children back.
Julianna Margulies: As Bernadette, Ms. Margulies has to convince the audience that a strong woman ahead of her time would be a attracted to a man like Desmond Doyle. And she does so as we watch her see through the drinking and brawling to the beautiful soul inside of Desi.
Alan Bates: If you want a scene-stealer, here he is. With his commanding presence, quick wit, and strong sense of character, Bates is Tom Connolly, former Rugby star, and now star of the courtroom. His last scene, during the justice's "However" speech, is a study in perfect facial and body expressions.
Stephen Rea: Finally, Mr. Rea gets to dress up, look sharp, and play sharp as Michael Beattie, the solicitor who first takes on the Doyle case. He is properly reserved and hopeful at the same time, anxious, as everyone was in the fifties to break the hold of the State and the Church in 1950's Ireland.
Aidian Quinn: Mr. Quinn received less than stellar reviews for his performance but frankly, I don't know why. Some critics say they don't see his attraction to Bernadette, and yet, it is clear to me by the little gifts he brings her and the smiles he bestows upon her, that he is smitten. It is equally easy to see that his character, Nick Barron, is still pained by the loss of his children, and will put aside his jealously of Doyle to help the man win his children back.
And last but by no stretch of the imagination least: Pierce Brosnan.
Oscar, thy name should have been Brosnan.
This is not James Bond, this not Thomas Crown, and it sure as hell isn't Remington Steele. For some, that might be a problem. For Brosnan fans it won't be.
The quiet strength that Desmond Doyle possessed is clearly displayed here, in fine moments of torture and tears. It is not just sadness in the tears of Desi as he cuts up the family photos and tosses them into the fire; it's disappointment in his wife and himself. When he brawls with the priest, we know it is not the priest he hates; it's the church. When he looks at Bernadette, we see a man coming alive again. After Evelyn points out the "Angel Rays" to her father, Desi doesn't patronize her; his quiet faith in God and his own earth Father, allows him to believe that he has friends in heaven and all is not lost. When Desmond and Nick have their discussion on the topic of Bernadette, and each find out the offers the other has made to the lovely woman, Desmond knows he doesn't stand a chance, but that doesn't make him think about changing lawyers. He knows he needs Nick to win his case, and he puts his children first.
Mr. Brosnan communicates all these moments with the body language and the natural tones of voice that we use to communicate. These tools Mr. Brosnan is often denied when he plays the role of Bond, but as Doyle, Brosnan can allow his character to fall out of love and back again, to cry, to laugh, and yes, even to sing, without fear of his cover being blown. Just as much as James Bond ever did, Desmond Doyle changed the world.
There are no over the top moments of bravura acting from Mr. Brosnan. Rather the audience is treated to the natural anger and strength that comes when a parent must fight for his children. And that is precisely how those scenes should be played. We are comforted by these emotions we see every day in people who love their families.
If you want to see Pierce Brosnan in action movies, don't see this movie. If you want to see Pierce Brosnan in an academy award worthy performance, see "Evelyn."
Aiden Quinn, Julianna Margulies, Stephen Rea, John Lynch and the ever brilliant Alan Bates are all marvelous. Sophie Vavasseur as the precious EVELYN is a joy. I would never have heard of this film had I not watched a Brosnan interview. Great film making is so often passed over by glitzy Hollywood fare. The true art of film is found in beautiful quiet films like this one.
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