The Tale of Sweety Barrett (1998)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Stephen Bradley

Writer:

Stephen Bradley (writer)

Release Date:

20 March 2000 (Iceland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Brendan O'Carroll	...	Rissolli
Brendan Gleeson	...	Sweety Barrett
Tony Rohr	...	Flick Hennessy
Andrew Scott	...	Danny
Agnes Bernelle	...	Mrs. Walsh
Frankie McCafferty	...	Arthur Meany
Kevin Flood	...	Fisherman
Lynda Steadman	...	Anne King
Dylan Murphy	...	Conor King
Liam Cunningham	...	Detective Bone
Dawn Bradfield	...	Mary the Waitress
Cillian Murphy	...	Pat the Barman
Dean Griffin	...	Hey-Horse Kid
Raymond Kean	...	Uniform One
Mikel Murfi	...	Uniform Two

Also Known As:

Aulabárður (Iceland)
Sweety Barrett (USA)

Runtime:

Canada:92 min | Argentina:95 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Ireland | Iceland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Iceland:10 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Balbriggan, Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Icelandic Film

Trivia:

Friðrik Þór Friðriksson was originally considered as director.

Soundtrack:

Baby Won't You Please Come Home

Miserable attempt at Irish _Slingblade_

I should qualify my remarks by saying that the person sitting nearest me (that's "nearest" as opposed to "next to" or "beside") cried profusely at the film's denouement. This tale of a recently unemployed circus worker who gets involved with some poteen smugglers (poteen, in the unlikely event of this movie getting an international release, is an illegal liquor) left me wanting to cry only for the hour and a half of my life I had wasted. It's clear form the start of the film that Sweety, played competently by Brendan Gleeson, is a Gentle giant, and anyone who's seen _Slingblade_ or any other gentle giant movies know what eventually happens to them, especially when it's so clear who the bad guys are. If I had to think of something good to say about this film, it's that it deals with Irish crime without referring to the IRA, but this could also be said of _I Went Down_ also starring Gleeson, as well as including some wit and irony. With its emphasis on the sordid and moribund, it aspires to the profundity of Italian neo-realism but ends up looking more like a tacky British TV movie. How this film can headline at Irish multiplexes when witty, intelligent films like _Separation Anxiety_ and _Pete's Meteor_ await a release is a secret film distributors will probably keep under their cloven hooves.