Themes: Criminal's Revenge, Haunted By the Past, Going Straight
Main Cast: Edward Burns, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Oliver Platt, Pat McNamara
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A relationship between two brothers literally becomes a matter of life and death in this drama from writer, director and actor Edward Burns. Francis Sullivan (Burns) was a street-wise thug with ties to the Irish mob until his younger brother Sean (Elijah Wood) was killed on Ash Wednesday in 1980 while trying to protect Francis from gangsters who were out to kill him. Three years later, Francis is a law-abiding man who is trying to stay on the straight and narrow and keep his eye on Grace (Rosario Dawson), Sean's widow. However, rumors have begun to circulate that Sean's death was just a ruse fabricated by Francis and a sympathetic priest, Father Mahoney (James Handy), to get mobster Moran (Oliver Platt) off Sean's back. Some people have spotted someone who looks a lot like Sean wandering around the neighborhood, and Moran, who doesn't forget a grudge, begins scouring the neighborhood in search of Sean, while Francis has worries of his own about Sean, since his relationship with Grace has started to move beyond simple family friendship. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
This sinister, atmospheric mob drama, shot in all sepia and shadows, is hampered by too many scenes of Acting 101, in which characters shout empty, accusatory lines without conviction while director Edward Burns' peripatetic camera jumps around the room as if shooting a hip car commercial. Still, there is much going for Ash Wednesday, including David Shire's moody piano score, a vivid sense of suspense, a palpable rhythm, and excellent secondary characters. And it's to Burns' credit that the story and characters are so compelling that the ash crosses on the major characters' foreheads for the duration never seem silly. (And neither does Oliver Platt, cast against type as a villain; he's truly a menacing presence.) This is Burns' fifth and most mature feature film, and despite its few flaws, even his most casual fans won't mind going along for the ride. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
James Handy - Father Mahoney; Michael Mulheren - Detective Pulaski; Malachy McCourt - Whitey; Julie Hale - Maggie Shea
Credit
Lucio Seixas - Art Director, Laura Rosenthal - Casting, Ali Farrell - Casting, Aaron Lubin - Co-producer, Catherine Marie Thomas - Costume Designer, Edward Burns - Director, David Greenwald - Editor, Caroline Kaplan - Executive Producer, Jonathan Sehring - Executive Producer, Glen Basner - Executive Producer, David Shire - Composer (Music Score), Tracy McKnight - Musical Direction/Supervision, Susan Block - Production Designer, Russell Fine - Cinematographer, Edward Burns - Producer, Margot Bridger - Producer, Carrie Stewart - Set Designer, Jerry Stein - Sound/Sound Designer, Edward Burns - Screenwriter, Benjamin Cheah - Supervising Sound Editor
Hell's Kitchen on Ash Wednesday, 1983. Rumors are flying that Francis Sullivan's (Edward Burns) younger brother Sean (Elijah Wood), dead for three years, has reappeared. If he wasn't killed by rivals, then old scores still need settling, putting Fran (Edward Burns) and Sean in danger. An upstart is pressuring the local mob boss, who's Fran's protector; Sean's wife, Grace (Rosario Dawson), an Afro-Latino, believes she's a widow, has gotten on with her life, but Sean has come back for her. The parish priest, part of the initial deception, is frightened. Bad guys with guns are closing in. Can Fran get Sean and his wife out of the city, avoid a war between rival factions, and hold onto new-found morality? Will the cross of ashes on his forehead protect him?
