Eat the Peach (1986)

Director:

Peter Ormrod

Writers:

Peter Ormrod (writer) and
John Kelleher (writer)

Release Date:

15 April 1988 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Two young Irish men are watching an old Elvis Presley movie in which a carnival cyclist performs an act called the Wall of Death. Transfixed, they decide to put together their own "Wall of Death." |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Stephen Brennan	...	Vinnie
Eamon Morrissey	...	Arthur
Catherine Byrne	...	Nora
Niall Toibin	...	Boots
Joe Lynch	...	Boss Murtagh
Tony Doyle	...	Sean Murtagh
Takashi Kawahara	...	Bunzo
Victoria Armstrong	...	Vicky
Barbara Adair	...	Mrs. Fleck
Bernadette O'Neill	...	Nuala
Paul Raynor	...	O'Hagan
Martin Dempsey	...	Quiz Master
Maeliosa Stafford	...	Priest
Jill Doyle	...	Aileen
Don Foley	...	Journalist

Runtime:

Canada:97 min | USA:90 min

Country:

UK | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:S | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

County Kildare, Ireland

Company:

Bórd Scannán na hÉireann

Movie Connections:

Features Roustabout (1964)

fantasy and reality intertwined

The film is about two men with a random and frivolous idea, actually if they were to have any respect for the circumstances they were living in it's a stupid idea. Nevertheless they commit themselves to it and in following through on their commitment they find resources of courage and creativity, shining a light back onto a 1980's Ireland so lacking in those traits.

The film doesn't make itself out to be better than the characters, it shares their commitment to the beauty of the idea and to the internal logic and urgency of the project. It's not ironic or snide and the characters aren't made out to be quaint or laughable. There's a space and a gentleness in the way they pass the time (which is one thing they're rich in) with each other and their families.

The reality they're up against is a fairly accurate depiction of the spirit and mood of 1980's Ireland if my memory serves, and the filmmakers somehow managed to get it financed and produced without paying for foreign investment with clichéd scenes for the prejudices of our Anglo-American cousins. I'm amazed that some meddling producer didn't push for a humorous confession scene where the priest turns out to be an expert on motorcycles, or protest that the pub with the bare walls and silent characterless men staring down into their pints didn't look "Irish" enough. Most of the time as Irish people we have to cringe or fast forward through these scenes, but this film has details and in-jokes just for us - the Southfork-inspired house of the local bigwig, the ministerial Merc, the young, dynamic Pat Kenny stepping out of the RTE van.