Themes: Down on Their Luck, Inner City Blues, Alcoholism
Main Cast: Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens, Michael Legge
Release Year: 1999
Country: UK/IE/US
Run Time: 145 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir by Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes is an alternately funny and heartbreaking look at growing up in Ireland. Born in Brooklyn, NY, young Frank (Joe Breen) moves at an early age to Limerick, Ireland, with his parents Angela (Emily Watson) and Malachy (Robert Carlyle), who have been unable to support their family in America and are hoping for better prospects in their home country. But things hardly improve once they settle in Limerick; as McCourt puts it, "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood. Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Illness and death are commonplace in Limerick, and Malachy's drinking and inability to hold a job make matters worse. Angela's Ashes was directed by Alan Parker, who previously looked at Irish life in The Commitments (1991); Laura Jones wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Ronnie Masterson - Grandma Sheehan; Pauline McLynn - Aunt Aggie; Liam Carney - Uncle Pa Keating; Eanna Mac Liam - Uncle Pat; Andrew Bennett - Narrator
Credit
Fiona Daly - Art Director, Jonathan McKinstry - Art Director, Malcolm Middleton - Supervising Art Director, Kit Golden - Associate Producer, Doochy Moult - Associate Producer, Ros Hubbard - Casting, Juliet Taylor - Casting, John Hubbard - Casting, Morgan O'Sullivan - Co-producer, James Flynn - Co-producer, Consolata Boyle - Costume Designer, Tommy Gormley - First Assistant Director, Dennis Maguire - First Assistant Director, Alan Parker - Director, Gerry Hambling - Editor, Adam Schroeder - Executive Producer, Eric Steel - Executive Producer, David Wimbury - Line Producer, John Williams - Composer (Music Score), Michael Roberts - Camera Operator, Geoffrey Kirkland - Production Designer, Michael Seresin - Cinematographer, David Brown - Producer, Alan Parker - Producer, Scott Rudin - Producer, Jennifer Williams - Set Designer, Ken Weston - Sound/Sound Designer, Eddy Joseph - Sound Editor, Laura Jones - Screenwriter, Alan Parker - Screenwriter, Frank McCourt - Book Author, Laurence O'Toole - Graphic Design
This film is an adaption of the memoir by the same name. It tells the story of Frank McCourt and his childhood after his family is forced to move back to Ireland because of financial difficulties and family problems derived from his father's alcoholism. The film chronicles his life in Limerick, Ireland, during the 1930s and '40s, the difficulties that ensued, and finally Frank's way of earning enough money to return to the land of his dreams: America. Michael Legge was praised for his portrayal of the adolescent Frank McCourt. In particular, he was said to acquiesce his role as an innocent teenager trying to balance poverty with "normal" teenage problems such as sexuality, maturity and peer pressure.
The film itself was praised by many critics for its stark interpretation of the novel. Examples include the scene where the teenage Frank and his friends masturbate together against a wall while looking at a field of sheep. This scene was not in the novel but was included in the film in allusion to the many sexual references of the text which were omitted from the film such as Frankie masturbating at various times alone and his sexual encounter with a woman when he arrives in America at the end of the novel.
