Ray Pride

What's Irish painter and decorator Desmond Doyle (Pierce Brosnan) to do when his wife scoots out on him the day after Christmas with an Englishman, leaving him with two young boys and a small girl? Bruce Beresford's "Evelyn," from a script by Paul Pender and produced by Brosnan's Irish Dreamtime, answers: hold your breath, worse is coming. Based on an actual groundbreaking 1950s family-law case in Ireland, "Evelyn" traces the efforts of the single, but not widowed, father to reclaim his kids once they're taken away by officials and imprisoned in what lawyer Stephen Rea dubs "a cozy conspiracy between the Catholic Church and the Irish government." The story also has a sly subplot about the power of publicity before it became as perverse as the law. It's all low-key melodrama, which Beresford's usually good at, with the spectacle of stern nuns who, though hardly as cruel as in Peter Mullan's upcoming "The Magdalene Sisters," still call little girls "ya dirty little tinkers" and, when challenged, reflexively box an angelic child's ruddy cheeks. It's Desmond's last straw when his daughter Evelyn is abused, and the law's his only hope. There are dashes of deeply rueful Irish humor. "Well, David beat Goliath in the book I read," a weary-looking Brosnan intones; he also observes, "I like Yanks, I do, most of them are Irish, anyway." Even with the year's most dubious heart-tugs--beware the "angel rays"--"Evelyn" is a small, sweet picture that touched me, a heart warmer that manages to shy from schlock. With Alan Bates, who's kinetic standing in place, Julianna Margulies and Aidan Quinn. 105m.

"Evelyn" opens Friday.

(2002-12-12)

Also by Ray Pride

Tip of the Week
The first anniversary of the ambitious monthly showcase of music, film shorts, and videos takes over the Biograph for the weekend.
(2002-12-04)

DVD Tip of the Week
hile it's nice to see behind-the-scenes footage of the shooting of Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 "Contempt" ("Le mepris") and a new interview with cinematographer Raoul Coutard among other features in a two-DVD edition, the great gift is the film itself.
(2002-12-04)

Time regained
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, fantasy forgives, desire embellishes. Sentiments like these lie at the heart of "Solaris," Steven Soderbergh's marital drama in a science-fiction setting.
(2002-12-04)

My Big Fat Night
I'm at a theater behind the American consulate, paying my six euro to see "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." In Greece.
(2002-12-04)

Turn into the slide
(2002-11-26)

Perfectly mediocre
(2002-11-20)

Tip of the Week
(2002-11-13)

Imitation of Life
(2002-11-13)

Tip of the Week
(2002-11-06)

Purty mouth
(2002-11-06)

Tip of the Week
(2002-10-30)

Spy-eyed
(2002-10-30)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment