Today’s Ireland, even after stopped being Celtic Tiger, looks like a promised land for many among the impoverished masses in the eastern parts of Europe. Some eighty to ninety years ago Ireland was anything but promised land for the Irish, at last judging by Frank McCourt memoir Angela’s Ashes and its 1999 film adaptation. The plot describes how the author’s family struggles with indescribable poverty in 1930s and 1940s Ireland, made worse by father’s alcoholism that takes away any money he and other family members might get. Directed by Alan Parker, Angela Ashes employs naturalistic style and creates bleak atmopshere which is only occasionally tempered with the black humour. A very strong and memorable film is compromised with somewhat over-sentimental ending, while Robert Carlyle in the role of father is easily overshadowed by Emily Watson in the role of mother.
RATING: 7/10