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Agnes Browne
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Release
Date: March 3rd 2000
Distributor: UIP
Certificate: 15
Starring: Anjelica Huston, Marion
O'Dwyer, Niall O'Shea, Ciaran Owens, Roxanna Williams
Director: Anjelica
Huston
Running Time:
152
mins
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| Angelica
Huston's directorial debut is a family drama set in Dublin in the 1960's.
Huston plays the title role of Agnes, a mother of seven children who has
to borrow money from the local loan shark (Ray Winstone) in order to be
able to bury her recently divorced husband. Trying to make ends meet working
on her fruit and veg stall in the market during the day, and spending
her evenings listening to her favourite Tom Jones records, Agnes finally
manages to pay off the loan, only to have one of her sons get a loan from
the same shark |
| Things
are constantly bleak for the Brown family in this movie but Huston's portrayal
of the heroine is a fair take and her Irish accent is spot-on. Adapted from
Brendan O'Carroll's best selling novel, The Mammy, Huston does a decent
job as actor director, and even though the Hollywood sheen is applied to
the Irish working class story, there are several moments that lift this
movie up above the mundane. Certainly when Tom Jones makes an appearance
in the film at a concert in Dublin is a high point, even if there is no
attempt to make him appear to be only 27 again Also the rapport between
Agnes and her best friend Marion (Marion O'Dwyer) are excellently bawdy
as befits both characters. |
| As
directorial debut Agnes Brown' is a highly commendable effort, and if Huston
is planning to move into directing more films, it's not a bad start. |
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