Evelyn

This is the story of how Desmond Doyle fought the Irish government to have his children (Evelyn, Dermot, and Maurice) released back into his custody. After his wife desserts him, leaving behind the children also, the government takes his children until such a time as the unmarried, currently unemployed Desi "can improve his circumstances". Much to his naive and broken heart's dismay, he later realizes that once the government has them, it intends to keep them from living in a paternal, one parent home. It tells the story of this man's journey becoming a better man and father. It also tells the story of the incidents behind the over turning of an unconstitutional law which had never been successfully challenged. Played brilliantly by Pierce Brosnan (who was born in Ireland) with Alan Bates taking on the role of the ex-barrister (retired) who changed the course of Irish family history. Sophie Vavasseur does an excellent job in the title role of Evelyn. Not over played or pretentious, this is a quiet must see for those who like to see real life with some happy endings.

Those of us who endured the gruelling "Angela's Ashes" a few years back probably came away with the impression that living in 1950s Ireland was like living in hell, or maybe slightly worse. We were treated to the dysfunctional family to end all: the father was a mean drunk, the mother was nuts, the kids were brats, their relatives were all vicious (or nuts), they were poorer than dirt, they lived under the heel of a Stalinist Catholic Church, and it NEVER STOPPED RAINING. I left the cinema wondering not why so many Irish had left their country, but why any had stayed.

Now along comes "Evelyn" which also is about poor people in 1950s Ireland, but this seems to be the Hallmark greeting card version. The father (played by Pierce Brosnan using, I imagine, his native accent) does drink, but he's not at all mean about it, his kids are angelic and the mother who abandons them only gets about five minutes of screen time and is soon forgotten. There are relatives who may not like one another but are united in their love for the kids (an enjoyable scene has Evelyn, the daughter, running back and forth conveying messages between two of them). There are a lot of well-meaning friends and acquaintances. They live in a nice home and don't seem to be starving or barefoot. It almost seems no big deal when the mother leaves; if anything, one supposes what little money they have will go further, with one fewer mouth to feed (there's an obligatory scene with Brosnan versus a boiling pot because, of course, all men are morons in the kitchen).

So it seems a little odd when government minions step in and announce that nice Mr. Doyle whose wife left him can't keep his kids any more. Now I know this is based on a true story and I know from other sources there was indeed a vast orphanage gulag (complete with slave labor) in Ireland, partly so that church and state could pretend it's possible to have a functioning country without divorce or abortion (and there was always nearby England). Some of that background would have been fascinating in "Evelyn," but maybe too depressing. So we just have to accept that here's this quaint country with this goofy law arbitrarily taking people's kids away. Doyle readily accedes to the removal, then abruptly wants them back. His efforts make up the remainder of the movie.

The problem here is what psychologists call "cognitive dissonance": on the one hand we're constantly reminded that the struggle of Doyle and his supporters against the church/state hierarchy is "hopeless," on the other hand, there's never really a sensation of hopelessness or desperation. There's a kind of amiable smoothness to the events, and frequent humorous moments. This may be partly due to the guiding hand of director Bruce Beresford who has never met a dramatic situation that he couldn't make cozy, whether it was the Boer War in "Breaker Morant," Southern racial tensions in "Driving Miss Daisy," capital punishment in "Last Dance" or Japanese POW camps in "Paradise Road," the latter also with J. Margulies from "ER." The orphanages in which the kids live don't even seem that unpleasant aside from one fascistic nun whose misdeeds get exposed anyway. The real horror of the Irish orphanage gulag was that it was swept under the rug for decades. This movie functions under a "sunshine law," literally; I don't want to "spoil" the big climactic scene for anyone, but let's just say that if they ever do another version of "Alice in Wonderland," spunky little Sophie Vavasseur is just the one to stand up (and up, and up) and tell all the high muckamucks they're all just a pack of cards.

I hope this isn't making it seem I didn't enjoy the movie; quite the contrary. I especially liked the ordinary-joe quality of Brosnan's Doyle, neither sinister nor saintly, fumbling his way toward becoming a better man for his kids' sake. If anything, I wish they'd given him a few more "warts," if only to make the point that if a parent is not clearly abusing his or her kids, then those kids belong with the parent, and not with the sodding government, or church. Nice to see some of my favorites like Stephen Rea and Aidan Quinn and Alan Bates being such good sports. Julianna M. gets probably her most "normal" film role yet, and shows (at least to me) why she should be a major star. She exudes realness. When male characters contend for her, I buy it. Can't say that about every actress, some of whom probably get paid a lot more for their roles (sorry, Sandra Bullock).

Basically this is a "feel-good" flick, and we can always use those. But like the orphans still behind the walls at the end, there is a darker theme still waiting for it's moment in the sun.

By the way, dog-racing's not a very nice thing either.

I have to admit, I was skeptical and anxious to see Pierce Brosnan in a serious dramatic role. His characters are usually very debonair and have an air of superiority about them that makes him seem to be better than the rest of us. I was pleasantly surprised seeing his true to life performance as Desmond Doyle an unemployed father of two boys and a girl named Evelyn. Evelyn is the eldest of the three children and has a special bond with her father which is the basis of the whole movie. Pierce Brosnan plays his character with a delicacy and dedication in which you the viewer completely forget him as Pierce Brosnan and start to really believe that this is a documentary type movie and not a Hollywood production. As Pierce Brosnan is Irish by birth it is not surprising how well he can pull off a moderate Irish accent but it is still a bit shocking considering how English he usually seems when he is seen on-screen. Stephen Rea, Alan Bates, Aidan Quinn and Juliana Margulies round out the rest of the adult cast and all put in performances that are worthy of their talents. Juliana Margulies being an American born actress is able to portray an Irish woman with accent very convincingly. This movie is without a doubt one of the better films of 2002, it is unfortunate that it was not widely known as a potential Oscar favorite.

I loved this movie from the first time I saw it. It has all a good story needs. It's funny, moving and warm.

The story of Evelyn Doyle is told without too much bias, which is a nice thing to see. It paints a picture of 1950s Ireland that seems more optimistic. The movie is not all about misery. It's about life with all its ups and downs.

The cast is excellent, you just have to love all the characters. I'm especially fond of Pierce Brosnan's performance. You see a side of him that he doesn't get to show much on film. He even sings, what impressed me a lot. He makes you forget about James Bond; he actually becomes Desmond Doyle. I'd love to see him in more films of that kind!

EVELYN (2002) *** Pierce Brosnan, Stephen Rea, Julianna Margulies, Aidan Quinn, Alan Bates, John Lynch, Sophie Vavasseur, Niall Beagan, Hugh McDonagh, Mairead Devlin, Frank Kelly. Heart-tugging melodrama based on a true story about a working class Irishman named Desmond Doyle circa 1950s attempted to regain full custody of his three beloved children (including the cute-as-pie Vavasseur as the titular daughter) after their mother abandons them making them wards of the state with stints in a Catholic institution. Brosnan acts up a storm with brio and has able support from Rea, Bates and Quinn as his legal brothers in arms and Margulies as the local barmaid/love interest. Warm-hearted and predictable but none-the-less crowd pleasing. (Dir: Bruce Beresford)