Angela's Ashes (1999)

Based on the best-selling autobiography by Irish expatriate Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all odds to escape the ... See full summary »

Director:

Alan Parker

Writers:

Frank McCourt (book), Laura Jones (screenplay)

Stars:

Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, Joe Breen

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emily Watson	...	Angela McCourt
Robert Carlyle	...	Malachy (Dad)
Joe Breen	...	Young Frank
Ciaran Owens	...	Middle Frank
Michael Legge	...	Older Frank
Ronnie Masterson	...	Grandma Sheehan
Pauline McLynn	...	Aunt Aggie
Liam Carney	...	Uncle Pa Keating
Eanna MacLiam	...	Uncle Pat
Andrew Bennett	...	Narrator (voice)
Shane Murray-Corcoran	...	Young Malachy (as Shane Murray Corcoran)
Devon Murray	...	Middle Malachy
Peter Halpin	...	Older Malachy
Aaron Geraghty	...	New Born Michael
Sean Carney Daly	...	Baby Michael

Storyline

Based on the best-selling autobiography by Irish expatriate Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all odds to escape the poverty endemic in the slums of pre-war Limerick. The film opens with the family in Brooklyn, but following the death of one of Frankie's siblings, they return home, only to find the situation there even worse. Prejudice against Frankie's Northern Irish father makes his search for employment in the Republic difficult despite his having fought for the I.R.A., and when he does find money, he spends it on drink.

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Plot Keywords:

irish | limerick | based on autobiography | 1930s | ireland | 

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Taglines:

The Hopes of a Mother. The Dreams of a Father. The Fate of a Child.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content and some language

Details

Country:

USA Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 January 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Las cenizas de Ángela

Filming Locations:

Rainsford Street, Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$54,628, 26 December 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$13,038,660, 21 May 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

David Brown Productions, Dirty Hands Productions, Scott Rudin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Liam Neeson was originally cast as Malachy, but dropped out.

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Goofs

At the end of the film, a ship entering New York has radar. At the time, Radar was not available on commercial ships.

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Quotes

Narrator: [First lines] When I look back on my childhood, I wonder how my brothers and I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood. The happy childhood is hardly worth telling. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood. And worse still is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.

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Connections

Features The Mummy (1932)

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Soundtracks

Cafe Musik
Performed by Matthias Seuffert

User Reviews

Watch it for Watson!

By rights, 'Angela's Ashes', Alan Parker's film of Frank McCourt's account of growing up in astonishingly deprived conditions in the impoverished theocracy of inter-war Ireland, should be unwatchable: just how much misery can a viewer be expected to take? But in fact, Parker tunes the misery level to perfection, and the movie is never as gruelling as its subject matter might lead one to expect. And while it doesn't quite have the emotional impact of the work, say, of Ken Loach, our foremost chronicler of contemporary poverty, there are still fine performances from all of the cast, most especially from the luminous Emily Watson (playing the eponymous Angela, whose ashes, however, appear to have disappeared from the screenplay). There are some nice stylistic touches as well: Limerick may be one of the wettest cities in Europe, but in this film, it lives under a perpetual cloud, though it gets a little brighter when the hapless heroes move into a slightly better class of house. But only a little. This is a movie that leaves you with a sense of sheer amazement and horror at how recently people lived in worse conditions than we would treat animals; and at the scale of the social and economic transformation that Ireland has undergone in McCourt's lifetime. And also at the unrivalled brilliance of Watson's skills as an actress.