An Everlasting Piece (2000)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer (WGA):

Barry McEvoy (written by)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Piece on Earth.

Plot:

Colin (Barry McEvoy) is a Catholic and George (Brian O'Byrne) is a poetry-loving Protestant. In Belfast in the 1980s...

Plot Keywords:

Scalper | Mental Institution | Urination Scene | Cross Cultural Friendship | Toupee

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Barry McEvoy	...	Colm
Brian F. O'Byrne	...	George
Anna Friel	...	Bronagh
Pauline McLynn	...	Gerty
Ruth McCabe	...	Mrs. O'Neill
Laurence Kinlan	...	Mickey
Billy Connolly	...	Scalper
Des McAleer	...	Mr. Black
Colum Convey	...	IRA Man
Ian Cregg	...	Milker
David Pearse	...	Comrade
Seamus Ball	...	Mr. Duggan
Enda Oates	...	Detective
Des Braiden	...	Vicar
George Shane	...	Billy King

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #37791) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Company:

Baltimore Spring Creek Productions

Quotes:

Scalper: The scrotum is the devil's tobacco pouch!

Movie Connections:

Features "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979)

Great!

This film was great for exactly what it was: a comedic drama with honest political/cultural commentary.

Set during the 1980's in the British-controlled portion of Ireland, "An Everlasting Piece" is about a Catholic and a Protestant barber who set off to win a monopoly as hair-piece salesman in the north of Ireland.

The style of comedy was what I would call "very British-like". It had that dry and witty sense of humor that is so terrific if you appreciate that sort of thing (just for the record, I'm usually a fan).

As far as the cultural/political commentary goes, an earlier post pointed out that George's family is non-existent in this movie, and that the story revolves around an almost entirely Catholic cast. My response is that to include the Protestant side of the story would have been impossible. To include the loyalist populace (and thus the loyalist paramilitaries, since there would have to be a balancing cinematic force countering the story of the IRA) would have required probably another 3 hours. I think this movie is really about the Catholic-Catholic confrontation. You've an IRA man who says "I want more than to just survive," in an era of unequal rights and opportunities for Irish Catholics, just as it was for the African Americans 2 decades before the film takes place. Then you have a Catholic who believes in "the cause" (ideologically speaking), yet has a Protestant friend who is obviously not concerned with politics or consumed with partisan hatred. The political/cultural issue here is the fact that the ideal the IRA was fighting for in the '80's (at the time, equal rights through union with the Irish Republic)) was legitimate in many respects- yet at what expense?

In the end the "film" is a movie- it is heart-warming entertainment that gives the viewer a general sense of one of the overall issues facing Ireland in the '80's, and it gives a lot of chuckles. It'll make you laugh, feel, and even make you think- so it's worth at least the rental price.