A Man of No Importance (1994)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Suri Krishnamma

Writer:

Barry Devlin (screenplay)

Release Date:

February 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

an extraordinary tale of an ordinary hero.

Plot:

Alfie Byrne is a middle-aged bus conductor in Dublin in 1963. He would appear to live a life of quiet desperation: he's gay...

Plot Keywords:

Church | Bus Conductor | Gay | Bus | 1960s

Cast

Albert Finney	...	Alfred Byrne
Brenda Fricker	...	Lily Byrne
Michael Gambon	...	Ivor J. Carney
Tara Fitzgerald	...	Adele Rice
Rufus Sewell	...	Robbie Fay
Patrick Malahide	...	Inspector Carson
David Kelly	...	Christy Ward
Mick Lally	...	Father Ignatius Kenny
Anna Manahan	...	Mrs. Grace
Joe Pilkington	...	Ernie Lally
Brendan Conroy	...	Rasher Flynn
Joan O'Hara	...	Mrs. Crowe
Eileen Reid	...	Mrs. Rock
Eileen Conroy	...	Mrs. Curtin
Maureen Egan	...	Mrs. Dunne

Runtime:

Spain:98 min | UK:99 min | USA:99 min

Country:

Ireland | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:MG6 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:T | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

BBC Films

Quotes:

Alfie Byrne: Dancing is neither modest or immodest. It's either well-done, or badly done.
Christy Ward: Is that a quote?
Alfie Byrne: Almost.

Soundtrack:

Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)

Moving film with wonderful performances

In once sense this comment is a response to some of the comments/reviews already posted here. Some reviewers were apparently looking for a message or statement from the film and felt disappointed. At times, I think the "message" can be secondary to the art of the actor or the filmmaker. Ironically, the main character in "A Man of No Importance" is passionate about "Art for Art's sake". Art doesn't have to have a point. Part of the art of this film is in the tapestry of colorful characters, wonderful dialog, and captivating performances. Albert Finney, Brenda Fricker, Michael Gambon, as one would expect from actors of their calibers, are completely convincing and real. Albert Finney's performance is perfectly calibrated, his character a combination of charming exuberance and subtly expressed confusion and loneliness.

It may be the director intended to put across a particular message about homosexuality, but to me it seems the real message and point to the film is the resilience of the human spirit throughout the experiences of isolation, loneliness, frustration, confusion, sadness, repression, etc. Attitudes about homosexuality in 1960s Dublin is one context in which to express this, but obviously it's a universal theme that can be played out in many settings.

The real challenge, and where this movie succeeds in spades, is in bringing humor, lightness, and real poignancy to the issue through a character one can genuinely like and relate to on so many levels. The credit for this is attributable to Albert Finney's brilliant acting in a film that is ultimately about the frailty and the endurance of one man, who could be any man.

One aside: the reviewer who liked the film but made the comment that it's unusual for Albert Finney to play a real person, must have not seen many of his films. Admittedly, he has often portrayed characters who are "bigger than life", but he can also quite effectively play ordinary people. I recommend the reviewer check out the following films: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Two for the Road, Charlie Bubbles, The Browning Version, Shoot the Moon, Rich in Love, The Playboys, Erin Brockovich, Gumshoe, The Run of the Country, Endless Game, Picasso Summer, and The Image.