Il mistero di Jo Locke, il sosia e miss Britannia '58

Gee, good story. Great scenery. Excellent acting. Great music. Tara Fitzgerald unclothed. Well, Tara's nude scene was less than germane to the plot, though I think she's totally yummy. Ned Beatty actually pulled the role of Jo Locke off quite well, not going over the top trying to lay on the old Irish brogue bit too heavy. The Locke vocals were sung by Vernon Midgely, & since I had never heard music like that before, I was knocked out. The trad Irish "diddly-diddly" tunes in the soundtrack are by Patrick Street, one of the best contemp Irish bands you can find. Adrian Dunbar, who co-wrote the screenplay with author Peter Chelsom, was wonderful, as semi-crooked music hall manager Mickey O'Neill. Tara Fitzgerald portrayed Nancy Doyle, O'Neill's "fiancee", & brings the role off very well. James Nesbitt, who may be known from "Ballykissangel", plays O'Neill's best friend back in Ireland. Shirley Anne Field, one of Britain's true beauties of the 60's, plays Fitzgerald's mother, a flame left behind by Beatty's Jo Locke, when he left England as a tax exile in the '50's. I just wish we could get a Director's Cut here in the States, as the US theatrical & video releases list actors(Brian Flanagan as "Young Mickey", Constane Cowley as "Nurse, and Marie Mullen as "Mickey's Mum") in the credits which for some inexplicable reason were cut from the North American release. This scene has to do with why Mickey O'Neill can't tell someone he loves them(i.e. Tara Fitzgerald as Nancy). Rumour has it "Hear My Song" will be re-released on DVD in the UK in July '09....but a US release is still delayed so DVD makers can press more boxed sets of "Dog, The Bounty Hunter", anime, and Hannah Montana(whose "movie" was actually directed by Peter Chelsom, who directed and wrote "Hear My Song") Still, this is a wonderful movie,

This is a stunning delightful story of one man's quest to do right by his girlfriend and his community. The Irish humour is great. The writing is tight. The performances are both touching and funny. One to watch more than once.

I don't think Peter Chelsom's appreciation will grow much today, with audiences and critics more inclined to pyrotechnics, flamboyant styles and cynic approach to mankind's troubles. Chelsom is a skilled filmmaker, but for today's tastes his cinema seems too close to the audience's soft hearts, and that is probably his less attractive trait.

I like a few of his movies: "The Mighty", "Serendipity" as predictable as it is, and my favorites "Funny Bones" and "Hear My Song" which he also wrote. Both deal with a search and possess a frenetic and funny approach to human foibles, and in this case an enthusiastic leading character, as played by Adrian Dunbar who also co-wrote.

Dunbar plays a nightclub administrator who keeps cheating on his patrons, bringing mediocre artists to perform. When he brings a fake tenor who humiliates his future mother-in-law (Shirley-Ann Field, who had an affair with the real tenor), he embarks on the almost impossible: finding the real singer, who cannot step on Irish soil due to tax evasion. Ned Beatty gives the performance of his life (and that's a lot to say) as the singer, leading the story to a moving conclusion.

I have been watching Waking the Dead, and thought I would explore other works done by it's stars. I'm starting with Eve (Tara Fitzgerald).

This is a great one for Ms. Fitzgerald, as we see all she has to offer as she jumps out of bed with Adrian Dunbar, after he fails to say he loves her. Unfortunately, her role is little more than that, as Dunbar is the star.

When you mention Irish tenors, people immediately think of Finbar Wright, Anthony Kearns, and Ronan Tynan. But long before, there was Joseph McLaughlin, better known as Josef Locke. This film is loosely based upon his life.

It really gets funny as Micky O'Neill (Dunbar) goes broke trying to fake everyone out with Franc Cinatra, and then with a Mister X, who pretends to be Locke, and goes chasing around Ireland to find the real Josef Locke and bring him back to England. Locke is played by Ned Beatty.

He manages to come to the realization that he really loves Nancy (Fitzgerald), and gets Locke to return.

What an ending!

I was charmed by more than the fact that I couldn't take my eyes off Tara Fitzgerald. A lovely whimsical plot, painting a picture of Irish fantasy, fairies and all, over the true life background of a great singer. And a beautiful soundtrack featuring original Locke recordings reminds us of just how moving a pure tenor voice can be. Who on earth needs techno and rap?

None of the other correspondents has yet picked up on the fact that Josef Locke (born Joseph McLaughlin 1917, died 1999) was alongside John McCormack as one of the two great Irish tenors (one correspondent has even written that he was a baritone -were you actually listening??) of the 20th century, and that he retired to rural life in Co Kildare in 1958 after the British Inland Revenue began to pursue him for large but disputed amounts of tax. That much is established fact, but this story of his comeback performance and the events surrounding it is indeed fantasy, with a happy feelgood ending. But what's so wrong with that? I like to be entertained, and unlike your more dismal correspondents I don't need to be intellectually challenged to thoroughly enjoy a movie. Nine out of ten, and I thought seriously about giving it ten as a gesture of eternal devotion to the stunningly beautiful Tara.