The Snapper 

Set in Ireland, Sharon Curley is a 20 year old living with her parents and many brothers and sisters. When she gets herself pregnant and refuses to name the father, she becomes the talk of ... See full summary »

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

Roddy Doyle (novel), Roddy Doyle (screenplay)

Stars:

Colm Meaney, Tina Kellegher, Ruth McCabe

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Colm Meaney	...	Dessie Curley - Rabbitte
Tina Kellegher	...	Sharon Curley - Rabbitte
Ruth McCabe	...	Kay Curley - Rabbitte
Eanna MacLiam	...	Craig Curley - Rabbitte
Peter Rowen	...	Sonny Curley - Rabbitte
Joanne Gerrard	...	Lisa Curley - Rabbitte
Colm O'Byrne	...	Darren Curley - Rabbitte
Ciara Duffy	...	Kimberley Curley - Rabbitte
Fionnuala Murphy	...	Jackie O'Keefe
Deirdre O'Brien	...	Mary (as Dierdre O'Brien)
Karen Woodley	...	Yvonne Burgess
Pat Laffan	...	George Burgess
Virginia Cole	...	Doris Burgess
Denis Menton	...	Pat Burgess
Brendan Gleeson	...	Lester

Storyline

Set in Ireland, Sharon Curley is a 20 year old living with her parents and many brothers and sisters. When she gets herself pregnant and refuses to name the father, she becomes the talk of the town.

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Plot Keywords:

vomiting | garbage can thrown through a window | ireland | hush money | beer | 

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Taglines:

She's got a little secret and a lot of explaining to do.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Grande Família

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,323,524

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second story in Roddy Doyle's "Barrytown Trilogy", following the adventures of the Rabbitte family. However, as 20th century Fox owned the film rights to the Rabbitte name (from The Commitments), the characters had to be re-named in the subsequent film adaptations (The Snapper, The Van).

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Goofs

When Sharon Curley goes into labour, they all pile into Jimmy's VW van to go to the maternity hospital, In the next scene we see the van travel south over Butt bridge in the center of Dublin. But the Rotunda maternity hospital in on the north side of Dublin, The same side as the Coolock home of the Curleys.

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Quotes

Young Lad: Is this your first?
Dessie Curley: Yeah. Oh no, no, no. It's, uh, it's my first grandchild. Is it your first?
Young Lad: No, my third.
Dessie Curley: Have you read this?
[holds a Family Planning book]

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Connections

References Antiques Roadshow (1979)

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Soundtracks

It's My Life
Written by Dr. Alban and Denniz Pop
Performed by Dr. Alban

User Reviews

Is that a baby, or a turkey?

The Snapper is directed by Stephen Frears and adapted to screenplay by Roddy Doyle from his own novel of the same name. It stars Colm Meaney, Tina Kellegher, Ruth McCabe, Fionnula Murphy and Brendan Gleeson.

The Snapper is the middle part of what became known as Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy (The Commitments and The Van either side of it). The Snapper of the title is a baby expected by young Sharon Curley (Kellegher) when she unexpectedly falls pregnant during a drunken liaison. Refusing to name who the father is, the strain on the large Curley family reaches breaking point, especially when the neighbourhood and so called friends begin to point and judge with malice. Can the Curley family pull through? It's going to need some humour and no end of Irish family grit to do so.

Affectionate realism draped in comedy, The Snapper in Frears' hands unfolds as an original take on the stress caused to a family by an unplanned pregnancy. Initially the film's structure feels bumpy, the blending of family drama with uproariously scripted comedy, but once you settle into it you realise that this is exactly how the Curley family are feeling, how they cope. As we get deeper into the picture, and there is much human depth here, peripheral characters come alive and the relationship between Sharon and her father Des (Meaney) really holds the attention whilst simultaneously tickling the requisite emotional threads.

Impeccably performed (Meaney, Kellegher and McCabe are terrific) and with a great script brought vividly to life by Frears, The Snapper is very much a recommended bowl of comedy drama Irish Stew. 8/10