Although there is no real plot to Dancing At Lughnasa it's a character study set in time and place, the time and place of a small town in James Craig's Ulster of 1936 is perfectly realized and filmed. Dancing At Lughnasa has the look and feel of The Quiet Man although the subject is far more serious.
Five Irish sisters who for one reason or another have not taken a husband live hand to mouth only supported by eldest sister Meryl Streep's meager salary as a schoolteacher. The rest do odd jobs and survive the best they can. The other four sisters are Brid Brennan, Sophia Thompson, Catherine McCormick, and Kathy Burke. McCormick has had a child out of wedlock played by Darrell Johnston and the sisters are raising him. Meryl has the steady job and she's the oldest and she bosses the others. Brid Brennan doesn't take anything off her, but the others more or less follow her lead.
Into the mix comes their older brother Michael Gambon who is a priest who is showing signs of what we would now call Alzheimer's Disease. He was a missionary in Africa, but his order has retired him. Also making an appearance is Rhys Ifans who is the father young Mr. Johnston. He's not staying long he's going off to Spain to fight for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. He's an interesting character because in Ireland, North or South, there would many who would more than likely fight for the Fascist military insurgency as the Catholic Church was a staunch bastion of support.
In Ifills case though in his defense, jobs are not to be had in that country which was only slowly recovering from its war for independence and the civil war that followed. A reason, not the best of one, for him not staying around to help raise his kid.
Eugene O'Neill could have written Dancing At Lughnasa it has his pessimistic style and its characters are deep if the plot is almost non-existent. Of course O'Neill never did create really good female characters except for the mother in Long Day's Journey Into Night.
Brian Friel's play was originally presented by the Abbey Theater in Dublin who some will argue is the best repertory company in the world. It later moved to Broadway where only Brid Brennan repeats her role for the film. That was probably a good thing because she won a Tony Award for Best Actress and the play itself won a Tony Award.
Watching this you will not soon forget the Mundys of Ballybeg.
Five Irish sisters who for one reason or another have not taken a husband live hand to mouth only supported by eldest sister Meryl Streep's meager salary as a schoolteacher. The rest do odd jobs and survive the best they can. The other four sisters are Brid Brennan, Sophia Thompson, Catherine McCormick, and Kathy Burke. McCormick has had a child out of wedlock played by Darrell Johnston and the sisters are raising him. Meryl has the steady job and she's the oldest and she bosses the others. Brid Brennan doesn't take anything off her, but the others more or less follow her lead.
Into the mix comes their older brother Michael Gambon who is a priest who is showing signs of what we would now call Alzheimer's Disease. He was a missionary in Africa, but his order has retired him. Also making an appearance is Rhys Ifans who is the father young Mr. Johnston. He's not staying long he's going off to Spain to fight for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. He's an interesting character because in Ireland, North or South, there would many who would more than likely fight for the Fascist military insurgency as the Catholic Church was a staunch bastion of support.
In Ifills case though in his defense, jobs are not to be had in that country which was only slowly recovering from its war for independence and the civil war that followed. A reason, not the best of one, for him not staying around to help raise his kid.
Eugene O'Neill could have written Dancing At Lughnasa it has his pessimistic style and its characters are deep if the plot is almost non-existent. Of course O'Neill never did create really good female characters except for the mother in Long Day's Journey Into Night.
Brian Friel's play was originally presented by the Abbey Theater in Dublin who some will argue is the best repertory company in the world. It later moved to Broadway where only Brid Brennan repeats her role for the film. That was probably a good thing because she won a Tony Award for Best Actress and the play itself won a Tony Award.
Watching this you will not soon forget the Mundys of Ballybeg.