Le neveu

I only viewed this movie because it was a previously-viewed video on sale for $3 at Blockbuster. I didn't expect too much but was very pleasantly surprised how good it was. I almost rated it 8, but settled on 7, mainly because the ending was a bit too "neat", and because some of the dialog was very difficult to understand.

Chad is the 19-yr-old son of an Irish woman who had been "exiled" to America 20 years earlier by her guardian, her older brother. He traveled to visit his uncle Tony upon the death of his mother. Once there, he finds a lot of secrecy and unhappiness, and the rest of the movie is about his attempts to get everything, especially about his mother, out in the open. Along the way he, of course, finds love. Very well cast and acted, this is definitely worth the almost two hours to see.

The pace and method of unfolding the story reminded me of Lone Star, but Lone Star is a significantly better movie overall.

This story begins in the middle, as it does for the main character, Chad. Gaps in the story fill in as you go and the film is deliberately vague as to how the characters relate to one another at first, so paying attention is required if you plan on "getting" the whole thing.

The performances are strong and the story is easy enough to follow with the added challenge of figuring out why the various characters are so irritated. Chad grows to understand how his mother is really the source of much of the drama.

Certain plot points are very convenient, but well played by the actors to make them believable. At one point Chad accidentally uncovers a big "piece in the puzzle". But Hill Harper plays it very naturally and blends it right into the script before you notice its unlikeliness.

The film moves at a respectable pace that still lends itself to the sleepy, nothing-to-do small-town atmosphere that is required to convey the characters' attitudes realistically.

An easy film to watch for adults, definitely boring and inappropriate for the under-sixteen crowd. Good-natured comic relief is in abundance. Even so, it is a bit sentimental and therefore might be cast off as a "chick movie" by younger boys/men.

I thought this movie was a nice surprise. I stumbled across it quite by accident while channel surfing on day. It deals with a wide range of human issues (love, cultural taboos, race, generation gap) in a very matter of fact fashion and worked toward resolution of the primary conflicts in believable strides. I feel it reflects well upon the Irish culture and the performers taking part. I enjoyed it well enough to desire to add it to my collection of DVD's. I would put it on a par with The Van, An Everlasting Piece, Rat, and The Snapper (to name a few). It isn't deserving of academy award consideration but certainly worth the time to view it.

A spirited young man from New York, Chad (played by Hill Harper, very worth your notice), takes a trip to an island off the coast of Ireland. This after the death of his only remaining parent, to fulfill a promise to meet his estranged uncle: he is a local man full of his own ideas about how life should be lived, for himself as well as others.

They embark on a personal journey full of challenges, surprises, family secrets and an uncertainty as to whether or not they will ever find common ground.

All of the main characters have been convincingly developed and they each have something conceivable and worthy to offer. This may not have been a super-high budget film but the acting is superb. Pierce Brosnan (one of the producers) gives a generous and compelling performance as the conflicted, village bar owner trying to balance parenthood and an amended life from behind the stone wall of a guarded heart. Veteran actor, Donal McCann, in one of his final performances, adds an authentic and credible edge as our protagonist's uncle. Sinead Cusak, Phelim Drew, Niall Tobin, Lorraine Pilkington and Aislin McGuckin also deliver command performances as the villagers that are comprised of both the kindred and not-so-kindred spirits in Chad's new world.

The soundtrack is a compilation of beautiful Irish ballads, old soul and rock as well as various and sundry other scores that lend a tight musical canvas against which this story is painted. It was disappointing to learn that there are no plans to make this soundtrack into an album that could be purchased.

What keeps me coming back to this sweet and gallant movie is its soulfulness and honesty. The map of the human heart is ultimately universal and the characters in this story endeavor to draw their own lines to determine what defines friendship, family and honor.

This is a wonderful, interesting and thoughtfully structured comfort film. It begs to be watched from your favorite easy chair on a cozy day - with feet up, your favorite afghan and a warm cup of tea and favorite cookies nearby.

OK, I enjoyed the movie. A good part of what I liked about the movie was simply learning a little about the daily life of people in Ireland. Take that away, and I'm not sure that the somewhat flawed script and story would hold up. The story holds your attention in that you get to know the characters and you want to know what happened 20 years ago. The revelation is fairly predictable, and not overly satisfying.

I give it a 7, and that's probably a little generous...