Even those with a weakness for all things Irish will be disappointed in this unengaging
coming-of-age story. Directed by Peter Yates and written by Shane Connaughton, the film
focuses on eighteen-year-old Danny (Matt Keeslar, a staggeringly uncompelling actor) who's
just lost his mom and hasn't a clue about what to do with his life. Adding to the pressure
is his fierce dad (Albert Finney), who loves his son, but sees him as a fragile, drifting
momma's boy. Danny finds a mentor of sorts in his best pal, Prunty (Anthony Brophy), a
brawling devil-may-care mischief-maker who's everything Danny is not. The movie's themes
of sex, repression and rebellion (political and personal) in modern rural Ireland are
worthy ones, but the filmmakers reduce them to blarney-soaked cliches. With Finney stuck
in a supporting role and the Michigan-born Keeslar out of place and out of his league,
it's left to Irish stage actor Brophy to make off with the movie - what little there is
worth taking.
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