A small-bore Southie coming-of-age drama whose heart is just a bit bigger than its cliches.
Comment
10/26/07
Black Irish (2007)
25
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:12
Fresh:3
Rotten:9
Average Rating:4.7/10
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: BLACK IRISH is a gripping coming-of-age drama. The story chronicles the trials and tribulations of 15 year-old Cole McKay (Michael Angarano), an obedient son who yearns for the attentions of his... [More]
Starring: Michael Angarano, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Guiry, Melissa Chessington Leo
Director: Brad Gann
Reviews for Black Irish
1 - 12 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
The problem with Black Irish is that, like those photos shifted to cover the holes, not everything is hanging in quite the right place here.
10/25/07
Could almost be labeled a Gaelic minstrel show, so riddled is it with every conceivable cliché and stereotype ever associated with the sons of Eire.
10/30/07
Gleeson inhabits the character in such a way that one cannot help but wonder how many Irish fathers like this he has personally known.
10/25/07
While the film has many well-observed moments...it ultimately suffers from its relentless piling on of crises.
12/03/07
Top CriticIt’s too sincere and thoughtful to be immediately dismissed. But it is terribly frustrating viewing: so much time and creative energy spent making a movie that, in one form or another, the audience has already seen.
10/25/07
A drismal drama rather reminiscent of Angela's Ashes, especially in terms of maintaining a relentlessly pessimistic and morose tone.
10/24/07
Black Irish boasts many memorable scenes and fine characterizations but ultimately plays more like a series of snapshots come to life than as an organically satisfying story.
10/26/07
Top CriticIt'll be worth watching to see if [director Brad Gann] plays to his strengths on future projects.
10/25/07
The blarney isn't the only thing that's thick in writer-director Brad Gann's Black Irish.
09/30/07
The difficulties of coming-of-age in an Irish-American family with a violent older brother and a self-destructive father.
10/13/07
Writer-director-producer Brad Gann's tale of growing up in blue-collar South Boston features a strong central performance, but it doesn't miss a cliche of hardscrabble adolescence.
10/05/07
1 - 12 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Latest News for Black Irish
November 03, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review 
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October 25, 2007:
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This week at the movies we have a lovelorn single dad (Dan in Real Life, starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche), brothers on a train (The Darjeeling Limited, starring Owen... More...
September 19, 2007:
The film derives strength from sensitively scrutinized characters, but tends to confuse Catholic guilt with narrative redemption.
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