The Field

Riveting performances by Richard Harris, Sean Bean, and John Hurt (nearly unrecognizable!) in a dark, tragic tale of life in post-famine Ireland. This is the perfect film to launch a film discussion group with. There's plenty to talk about after viewing it, that's for sure. It's not what I'd call an "intellectual" film, but it's definitely memorable. If you're an American, like me, and you saw John Hurt as Caligula in the PBS series "I, Claudius"--you won't believe his performance in "The Field". Amazing. (Note from my wife to Beanstalkers: There are a couple of scenes...) Details? The horses pulling the gypsy wagons are the right breed. And in the pub scenes, you can almost taste the beer.

I had never heard of The Field before, and I could hardly believe how good it is. What a shame that it is so little known. The story starts out slowly but builds up to a climax that is perfectly logical, totally based on character, and awesome in its intensity.

The script is superb, particularly in that use of language at which the best Irish writers are unsurpassed. But the real strength of the movie lies in the amazing performance of Richard Harris, surely one of the all-time great movie performances. He should easily have won the Oscar over Jeremy Irons in Reversal of Fortune, brilliant though Irons is; perhaps Irons only won because too few people had seen The Field. Bull McCabe is a great character who is being torn apart by conflicting emotions: his love for the land, his love for his son, his love for God and for the Church, and his frustration at never being able to achieve what is important to him. His devastation at the end reminded me a lot of King Lear, and indeed this movie has a power like one of the best of Shakespeare's tragedies. As one reviewer has already noted, the only weakness is the poorly-sketched character of the American and its lack of a believable motivation. Even with that weakness, it rises far above most of what passes for serious drama these days.

A more simplistic view of the Irishmen and their love of the land was voiced by Gerald O'Hara in GONE WITH THE WIND: "Land is the only thing worth fighting for, worth dying for." And that is precisely what the theme of THE FIELD is, with RICHARD HARRIS giving a towering performance as "Bull" McCabe, who believes with all his heart that the land he covets cannot be taken away from him by anyone else, least of all an American he calls "the Yank" (TOM BERENGER in an underwritten role).

Irish traditions and landscapes are beautifully captured by the camera in this picturesque tale, a grim tragedy that plays out like a twisted morality tale with the viewer hating what McCabe does with his strong beliefs, tainted by false values and his own uncompromising ways.

As impressive as Harris is, JOHN HURT overplays his dimwitted brother to the point where his role seems like a parody of a clumsy character. SEAN BEAN is wonderfully restrained as the brother who is uneasy with his father's strong prejudices and beliefs and would rather not fight Berenger over a piece of land.

The tale becomes a Greek tragedy once Harris allows his passionate love of the land to overcome all reason. The parish priest tells his stoic villagers that such love of the soil can destroy the soil and that's what happens here.

There are some brilliant moments including the savagely staged fight scene by the sea on a misty night, but the story (based on a play) never quite achieves a meaningful conclusion with its very downbeat ending.

Realism of most of the performances is unquestionable, but the main reason for seeing it has to be Richard Harris' unforgettable performance as an Irishman who lets "the field" destroy his reasoning to the point of madness.

Tenant farmers in Ireland and their problems accounts for some of the great political movements in that country. So it was interesting to learn that in The Field those problems have not gone away even though it's not British who are absentee landlords.

Shot mostly in County Galway in Ireland, The Field certainly has the look and feel of The Quiet Man, but it's hardly in the same lighthearted spirit. In fact the priest in this film functions more like Karl Malden's priest of the docks in On The Waterfront.

Richard Harris has been a tenant farmer working the land for widow Frances Tomelty for years and has raised his family there. It's pretty much accepted by the villagers that it's Harris's land by right of sweat so when the widow wants to sell no one bids against him except Harris's sidekick John Hurt. But American Tom Berenger doesn't know the rules around there and he does bid.

But what Berenger wants to do is develop the place, put some Americanized shopping mall there. Imagine a strip mall on some of that beach-front property that John Ford so lovingly photographed in The Quiet Man and you can understand the feelings there. It all leads to a lot of tragedy.

Originally Harris was supposed to play the priest role that Sean McGinley had and who played it well. The lead was to go to Ray McAnally who had done this role on stage. When McAnally died, Harris was moved up to the lead and responded with an Oscar nominated performance for Best Actor. Harris lost that year to Jeremy Irons in Reversal of Fortune.

Also look for some nice performances here by Sean Bean as Harris's son and Brenda Fricker as his wife. All part of a very violent household.

Religion specifically the Roman Catholic Church takes a beating and The Field does touch on the conservative role of the church in society. It's a generally accepted fact that the Church did its level best to discourage revolutionary activity during the 19th century after the Irish lost their parliament in the Wolfe Tone rebellion. Harris and others in the film comment about how no priests died during the potato famine that they don't know how the tenant farmers live. And Sean McGinley as the village priest is by no means portrayed as a bad man.

There's also bad feelings towards Berenger who is seen as the descendant of people who cut and ran during the Irish troubles. Of course if a lot hadn't emigrated to all points of the globe, there would be a lot more trying to share the land that Harris wants to hold on to.

The Field is a fine drama about Ireland and the problems there that may not have been totally resolved with independence.

While studying in Ireland, the subject of movies about - or filmed in - Ireland came up often with the locals. From Dublin to Galway, the movie mentioned most often was "The Field." Controversial and yet considered to be one of the truest representations of the Irish people of that era. It's also one of the few stories told about those who stayed behind during the famine, and survived. If you're looking for a feel-good movie about leprechauns, this ain't it. If you're up for "Gangs of New York" or "Legends of the Fall," you can handle it. Incredible performances by the late, Great Richard Harris and Sean Bean.