Pluskylang
Great Film overall
Intcatinfo
A Masterpiece!
Scarlet
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
emefay
The story of the boy and his mother and O was fine, very sweet, even. Even the fact that Joe turned out bad and let the boy down was okay -- a kind of life lesson for him.But there was no need to do such cruel things to the dogs. It was heart-breaking. I don't know how anyone can be so heartless, yet I know such cruelty does go on in real life. The people who hurt animals have no hearts and I hope they burn in hell.I agree with the review from Leo 811. The film should not have depicted such violence. It was unnecessary. A good story could still have been told with letting the boy get his beloved Celt back safely in the end. Tacking on the "happy" ending with a new puppy is not good enough.Films need to be more uplifting. We should be inspiring young people to be kind to all animals, domestic and wild.
fnorful
The story line on this is fairly mainstream, but set in an Irish framework.The accents here are noted as being "very realistic" by friends who appreciate Irish lore, history and culture, but are fairly difficult to discern by those of us who are "dialect-challenged". Other comments note the accuracy of the accents, but do consider turning the subtitles on with this one in order to catch the idiom and other nuances.The character development is middle-of-the-road, and the cinematography is nicely done.The story develops predictably, with only a few bumps in the road for younger viewers while more than adequately maintaining the interest of the adult viewing crowd.
northroc
This film was great. I caught it on sun-dance. I couldn't stop watching it the flow of the film really is great ...and you just want to see what happens next. And that is what this film is about, "what happens next." Great. I don't really care for dog racing or anything but that's not really the point of the story or the real focus. It's just a device to move the characters across the board. But who cares? As long as you care about whats going on in the character's mind. Check it out if you can on Sundance or on disc if its available yet. It's a shame this movie hasn't received as much buzz as it deserves. Who knows, maybe it will eventually this year after being on the sun-dance channel.
D_la
The opening scene of this film makes sure we know who the bad-guy is, Good Joe, the greyhound trainer. We first meet him throwing a bag, full of what we are not certain but are given to understand that it is unwanted pups, into the lake. And he never really improves from that opening.The film is set in Northern Ireland, with the troubles serving to create a history for some of the characters, while others certainly don't want to see the Peace Process continue.The plot revolves around Donal, who persuades Good Joe to buy a certain greyhound, his mother, Kate, played by Gillian Anderson with a not terrible accent, and a recently returned ex-IRA man, O (Robert Carlyle). Donal names the dog after a comic book he seems to read all the time, The Mighty Celt. When the dog loses his first race he almost ends up in the water with the pups, but luckily Donal returns in time to save the dog from a hammer to the head. Donal bargains with Joe and they strike a deal that Donal will train Celt, and if he wins three races will gain ownership, he'll also have to work a lot longer hours with Joe's other dogs.But the film is more about the legacy of NI's violent past. Kate's brother was killed in 1991 while on "active service" and in the same incident O was shot and forced to flee his home. A fact commemorated in the film as it shows a memorial service, with murals, flag-waving and speeches. O returns in the course of the film, no longer a man of violence, yet never really apologetic for whatever it was he did. And it is Joe who embodies the violent tradition. Which of these two role models will have the greatest impact on Donal? There are some lovely humorous moments in this film, as well as a few shocking ones, and over all the film is quite enjoyable. It is low-key and never ott, and all the actors do good jobs. Anderson in particular is very different, and very good, in her role as a single mother.
