Main Cast: Richard Harris, John Hurt, Tom Berenger, Sean Bean, Frances Tomelty
Release Year: 1990
Country: US/UK/IE
Run Time: 113 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Richard Harris was nominated for several awards (including the Oscar and Golden Globe) for his performance in The Field. The time is the mid-1930s; the place, western Ireland. For many years rugged individualist Bull McCabe (Harris) has been cultivating a small plot of rented land, nurturing it from barren rock into a fertile field. Now, however, the widow who owns the land plans to sell it at auction. The infuriated Bull shows up at the bidding, secure in his belief that none of his neighbors will dare bid against him. But Bull has not taken into consideration a wealthy Irish-American (Tom Berenger), who intends to pave over the land and bring new industry to the area. "This is deep, very deep, deeper than you think" warns Bull, as he sends his grown son (Sean Bean) to "persuade" the American to withdraw his bid. Armed with the foreknowledge that Bull's tenacity has caused heartbreak and tragedy in the past, the audience steels itself for the awful consequences still to come. Punctuating the storyline are the periodic appearances of the toothless village idiot, played by John Hurt. Originally produced for British television, The Field was based on the landmark play by John B. Keane, and directed by My Left Foot's Jim Sheridan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The Field shines because of Richard Harris's towering performance and the strength inherent in John B. Keane's source play. Screenwriter/director Jim Sheridan transfers much of Keane's well-designed symbolic structure, at times at the cost of the story's narrative flow. A sense of doomed resignation permeates the film, making its tragic ending almost inevitable. The film features a fine supporting cast, led by an almost unrecognizable John Hurt and including Brendan Gleeson in his screen debut and a good performance from Tom Berenger, whose character embodies Keane's criticism of Americanized Irish expatriates who have forgotten the old ways and lost their respect for the land. Critical opinion varied widely on The Field, ranging from those who saw it as an insightful parable for the transition of Ireland to a modern non-agrarian society, to such critics as Roger Ebert, who rated it among the worst films of 1990. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
Brenda Fricker - Maggie McCabe; Jenny Conroy - Tinker Girl; John Cowley - Flanagan; Sarah Cronin - Girl at Dance; Rachel Dowling - Girl at Dance; Brendan Gleeson - Quarryman; Mairtin Jaimsie; Tom Jordan - Villager; Eamon Keane - Dan Paddy Andy; Peadar Lamb - Paddy Joe O'Reilly; Ruth McCabe - Tinker Woman; Malachy McCourt - Sergeant; Sean McGinley - Father Doran; Bina McLoughlin - Villager; Johnny Choil Mhike - Villager; Aine Ni Mhuiri - Priest's Housekeeper; Noel O'Donovan - Tomas; Jer O'Leary - Tinker Girl's Father; Sara Jane Scaife - McRoarty Girl; Joan Sheehy - 2nd Tinker Woman; David Wilmot - Boy at Dance; Ronan Wilmot - Tinker; Nuala Moiselle; Frank McDonald
Credit
Frank Hallinan Flood - Art Director, Nuala Moiselle - Casting, Joan Bergin - Costume Designer, Jim Sheridan - Director, J. Patrick Duffner - Editor, Steve Morrison - Executive Producer, Elmer Bernstein - Composer (Music Score), Audrey Collins - Musical Direction/Supervision, Tommie Manderson - Makeup, Frank Conway - Production Designer, Mary Alleguen - Production Designer, Jack Conroy - Cinematographer, Noel Pearson - Producer, Arthur Lappin - Producer, Josie MacAvin - Set Designer, Jim Sheridan - Screenwriter, John B. Keane - Play Author
Field, The (1965), a play by John B. Keane. First staged at the Olympia Theatre, it tells the story of ‘the Bull’ McCabe, a Kerry farmer who murders a rival over the auction of a field.
The Field is a play written by John B. Keane, first performed in 1965. It was adapted into a film in 1990 by Jim Sheridan. It tells the story of the hardened farmer "Bull" McCabe and his love for the land he rents. The play debuted at Dublin's Olympia Theatre in 1965, with Ray McAnally as "The Bull" and Eamon Keane as the "The Bird" O'Donnell. The play was published in 1967 by Mercier Press. A new version with some changes was produced in 1987.
The Field is set in a small country village in southwest Ireland. Bull McCabe has spent many hard years of labour turning the rocky land he rents from the widow Maggie Butler into a field suitable for grazing cattle. He has always considered the land his own, and dreams of buying it; Butler decides to sell the land at public auction. The McCabes intimidate most of the townspeople out of bidding in the auction, to the chagrin of auctioneer Mick Flanagan, but Galway man William Dee arrives from England, where he has lived for many years, with his own plans for the field. An encounter between Dee and the McCabes ends in bloodshed and a coverup. Other characters include the town priest Father Murphy, Flanagan's wife and son, and the loyal town drunk "Bird" O'Donnell.
Keane based the story on the 1959 murder of Moss Moore, a bachelor farmer living in Reamore, County Kerry. Dan Foley, a neighbour with whom Moore had a long-running dispute, was suspected of the murder, but the charges were denied by Foley's family.[1]
Film version
Jim Sheridan's 1990 film version starred Richard Harris as Bull McCabe, Sean Bean as Bull's son Tadgh, Brenda Fricker as Bull's wife Maggie, and John Hurt as Bird O'Donnell. Adaptations included changes to the cast; the town priest received an expanded role as Father Chris Doran, played by Sean McGinley, and English resident William Dee is replaced by the sympathetic Irish American Peter, played by Tom Berenger. The auctioneer's role is considerably reduced, while new additions include a family of Irish Travellers, despised by Bull McCabe for having lost their connection to the land. The ending was also changed for the film. The Field was released to generally good reviews,[2] and Harris received an Academy Award nomination for his role. In 1996 An Post, the Irish Post Office, issued a set of postage stamps to commemorate the centenary of Irish cinema; the 32p stamp featured an image from The Field of actors Harris, Bean, and Hurt standing against the backdrop of Killary Harbour.[3]
Notes
^Fuil agus Dúch, Broadcast on TG4, 22 Mar 2007 at 10 p.m. GMT.
