Stars: Robert Carlyle, Emily Watson, Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens, Michael Legge, Pauline McLynn, Ronnie Masterson, Liam Carney, Eanna MacLiam

Director: Alan Parker

Summary: Based on the autobiography by Frank McCourt, this drama tells the story of Frank's life as a child growing up in Limerick in the 1930s.

ANGELA'S ASHES is the true story of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt (played at various ages by Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens, and Michael Legge), whose personal memoir became a worldwide phenomenon. When eldest son Frank's baby sister dies and father Malachy (Robert Carlyle) can find no work, the McCourt family is forced to leave America and return to their native Ireland, where conditions are even more destitute than in Brooklyn. Malachy's northern accent is frowned upon in Limerick, keeping him on welfare and the family living in poverty. Things turn even more sour when two more children die and Malachy leaves the family to go to work (or, better yet, drink) in England. He never returns. Frank struggles through the poverty and his new role as man of the house, but throughout the seeming hopelessness his dream of traveling to America keeps him determined and optimistic. The three little-known actors playing Frank are impressive, and Emily Watson gives a quiet, impassioned performance as Frank's mother, Angela. Michael Seresin's photography underscores the deft direction of Alan Parker (THE COMMITMENTS, EVITA), infusing the story with beauty even at its most desperate moments.

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Reviewed by: mcdermot7@aol.com
Posted on January 1, 2006 5:33 PM

Angela's Ashes is a one of those films everyone with a social conscience just has to see. It is an Alan Parker classicl. The picture is based on the autiobiographical book of Frank McCourt,. It is set in 1930's Limerick. The acting is fantastic, mainly by Emily Watson as the loving mother Angela McCout and Robert carlyle who displays the talent we know he has as the father with multiple personalities. The film follows young Frank goeing through three periods of his life in poverty stricken Ireland. Oscar winner John Williams provides a moving score. Ace Film.

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Because Frank McCourt's bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Asheswas dearly embraced by millions of readers, it was perhaps inevitable that Alan Parker's film version would prove somewhat disappointing. McCourt's book is blessed with subtleties of language and detailed observation that do not easily lend themselves to screen interpretation, and Parker's film suffers from an overly literal, reverently sombre approach that lacks the cumulative emotions of McCourt's account of impoverished youth in Ireland. And where McCourt was able to enliven his family's suffering with tenacious humour and fighting Irish spirit, Parker's film provides precious little uplift in the course of 145 minutes.

The film is by no means an artistic failure. While admirably avoiding sentiment, Parker is nearly peerless in his direction of children, and the three actors playing Frank at ages 7, 11, and 15 are uniformly superb. As photographed by Michael Seresin, the re-created lanes of Limerick, Ireland are almost painfully authentic in the cold, grey dampness that permeates nearly every scene (this is surely one of the wettest films ever made). As the McCourt parents--chronically depressed Angela and recklessly drunken Malachy--Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle successfully bypass the pitfalls of melodrama in a film that could have wallowed in bathos. And while Parker's anecdotal approach falls short in conveying the fullness of McCourt's experience (the director fared better with the Irish rockers of The Commitments), Angela's Ashescaptures a specific time and place with vivid force, remaining loyal to the spirit of Frank McCourt's beloved tale of survival. --Jeff Shannon

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	2 Trailers, Featurette, Commentaries, Interviews, Filmographies
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1999
Release Date:	June 6, 2005
Runtime:	145 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	8203645
Keywords:	Ashes, General, Wide, Screen, Drama, Angela's
Genre:	Drama