This Is My Father

Last updated

This Is My Father
Cover This is my father.jpg
Directed byPaul Quinn
Screenplay byPaul Quinn
Produced by Nicolas Clermont
Philip King
Starring
Cinematography Declan Quinn
Edited byGlenn Berman
Music by Donal Lunny
Production
companies
Filmline International
Hummingbrid Communications
Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics (US)
Release date
  • May 7, 1998 (1998-05-07)
Running time
119 minutes
CountriesCanada
Ireland
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,078,737 [1]

This Is My Father is a 1998 Canadian-Irish film directed by Paul Quinn.

Contents

Plot

The film portrays a tragic love story set in late 1930s Ireland, focusing on the relationship between Fiona Flynn (Moya Farrelly), a beautiful, feisty seventeen-year-old from a middle-class family, and Kieran O'Dea (Aidan Quinn), a shy labourer in his early thirties, and the search decades later by their son, Kieran Johnson, (James Caan) to find his roots in late 1990s Ireland.

The film is told as an interweaving of the nineties setting, where Kieran is hearing the story of his parents, and the events of the 1930s. Kieran Johnson grew into adulthood unaware of his parents' story or of the tragic events that caused his mother to leave Ireland on her own while pregnant.

The story highlights the issues of prejudice, classism, alcoholism and social and religious conservatism in rural 1930s Ireland.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting Cast

Reception

Roger Ebert given the film 3 out of 4 stars and compared it to his own visit to Ireland in 1967. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>My Left Foot</i> 1989 film by Jim Sheridan

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jim Sheridan adapted by Sheridan and Shane Connaughton from the 1954 memoir by Christy Brown. A co-production of Ireland and the United Kingdom, it stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Brown, an Irish man born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Brown grew up in a poor working-class family, and became a writer and artist. Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Hugh O'Conor, Fiona Shaw, and Cyril Cusack are featured in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Caan</span> American actor (1940–2022)

James Edmund Caan was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in The Godfather (1972) – a performance that earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor. He received a motion-picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Dillon</span> American actor (born 1964)

Matthew Raymond Dillon is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award nomination and Grammy nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanie Griffith</span> American actress (born 1957)

Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. Born in Manhattan to actress Tippi Hedren, she was raised mainly in Los Angeles, where she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School at age 16. In 1975, 17-year-old Griffith appeared opposite Gene Hackman in Arthur Penn's neo-noir film Night Moves. She later rose to prominence as an actor in films such as Brian De Palma's Body Double (1984), which earned her a National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. Griffith's subsequent performance in the comedy Something Wild (1986) attracted critical acclaim before she was cast in 1988's Working Girl, which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won her a Golden Globe.

<i>The Mission</i> (1986 film) 1986 British film by Roland Joffé

The Mission is a 1986 British historical drama film about the experiences of a Jesuit missionary in 18th-century South America. Directed by Roland Joffé and written by Robert Bolt, the film stars Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn, Cherie Lunghi, and Liam Neeson.

<i>Stakeout</i> (1987 film) 1987 buddy cop action comedy film written by Jim Kouf and directed by John Badham

Stakeout is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by John Badham and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Madeleine Stowe and Aidan Quinn. The screenplay was written by Jim Kouf, who won a 1988 Edgar Award for his work. Although the story is set in Seattle, the film was shot in Vancouver. A sequel, Another Stakeout, followed in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Sheridan</span> Irish film director

Jim Sheridan is an Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed three critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, My Left Foot (1989), The Field (1990), and In the Name of the Father (1993), and later directed the films The Boxer (1997), In America (2003), and Brothers (2009). Sheridan has received six Academy Award nominations for his work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aidan Quinn</span> American actor (b. 1959)

Aidan Quinn is an American actor. He made his film debut in Reckless (1984), and has starred in over 80 feature films, including Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), The Mission (1986), Stakeout (1987), All My Sons (1987), Avalon (1990), Benny & Joon (1993), Legends of the Fall (1994), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Michael Collins (1996), Practical Magic (1998), Song for a Raggy Boy (2003), Wild Child (2008) and Unknown (2011). He also played Captain Thomas "Tommy" Gregson on the CBS television series Elementary (2012–19).

<i>Liam</i> (2000 film) 2000 film by Stephen Frears

Liam is a 2000 film directed by Stephen Frears and written by novelist/screenwriter Jimmy McGovern. McGovern adapted Joseph Mckeown's novel Back Crack Boy for this emotionally raw meditation on innocence and pain. Frears in turn was influenced by James Joyce's accounts of his stern childhood in late 19th century Catholic Dublin.

Declan Quinn is an American cinematographer. He is a three-time winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis O'Dea</span> Irish actor (1905–1978)

Denis O'Dea was an Irish stage and film actor.

<i>Bachelors Walk</i> (TV series) 2001 Irish TV series or program

Bachelors Walk was an Irish (RTÉ) comedy-drama series shot in and around Dublin. The programme was first broadcast on Network 2 on 1 October 2001. After a run of three series and an absence for three years, a one-off Christmas special which aired on St. Stephen's Day 2006 on RTÉ Two.

<i>Doubt</i> (2008 film) 2008 American drama film

Doubt is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, based on his Pulitzer Prize–winning and Tony Award–winning 2004 stage play Doubt: A Parable. Produced by Scott Rudin, the film takes place in a Catholic elementary school named for St. Nicholas. The film stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis.

Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA) is an American film production company specializing in the production, acquisition and distribution of low-budget films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Innisfree</span>

The "Isle of Innisfree" is a song composed by Dick Farrelly, who wrote both the music and lyrics. Farrelly got the inspiration for "Isle of Innisfree", the song for which he is best remembered, while on a bus journey from his native Kells, County Meath to Dublin. The song was published in 1950 by the Peter Maurice Music Publishing Co.

<i>Fanny Hill</i> (1964 film) 1964 film by Russ Meyer, Albert Zugsmith

Fanny Hill is a 1964 American – West German historical comedy film directed by Russ Meyer and starring Letícia Román, Miriam Hopkins and Ulli Lommel. Filmed at the Spandau Studios in Berlin, the film is an adaptation of the 1748 John Cleland novel of the same name.

The 9th Irish Film & Television Awards took place on Saturday 11 February 2012 at the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD), honouring Irish film and television released in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kieran O'Reilly (performer)</span> Irish actor and musician

Kieran O'Reilly is an Irish actor, musician and producer. He is also the songwriter and lead vocalist of the Irish alternative rock band, Hail The Ghost. He is best known for his controversial role as Detective Garda Ciarán Madden in RTÉ's hit crime drama, Love/Hate, and his role as 'White Hair' in the Emmy Award-winning television show, Vikings.

Cathleen Delany was an Irish actress of stage and screen.

References

  1. "This Is My Father". IMDb . Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  2. Roger Ebert. "This Is My Father" . Retrieved 17 June 2019.