With a name like White Irish Drinkers you’d expect the movie to be along the crazy lines of The Boondock Saints. Well, while it’s far from that, White Irish Drinkers is, nonetheless, still a solid movie in its own right.
The film stars Avatar’s Colonel Miles Quaritch, aka Stephen Lang, along with Peter Reigert (Animal House, Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the new kids on the block Geoffrey Wigdor and Nick Thurston. It was both directed and written by Brooklyn born John Gray (Helter Skelter).
Set in Brooklyn in 1975, the film tells the story of 18 year-old Brian Leary (Thurston) who is trying to figure out what to do with his life. He wants so much to “grow balls” and act like his brother Danny (Wigdor), who is a misfit on all accounts, committing petty crimes and getting into fights, but, at heart, is an artist who enjoys a his creative freedom. They both live at home with their poor father Paddy (Lang), who is an abusive alcoholic, and their mother Margaret (Allen).
Brian works at a failing movie theater when one day his boss, Whitey (Reigert), calls in a favor and ends up booking The Rolling Stones for a one night show in Brooklyn. Brian is responsible for spreading the word about the show and, in the process, ends up meeting a girl, learns about opportunities outside of Brooklyn, and slowly learns what it’s like to grow up.
I really enjoyed this film. I think Gray did a solid job of creating a complete coming of age story that didn’t seem to leave any plot holes unfilled. One of the main reasons both I and my father enjoyed this movie is because we were able to relate to it in some way, my father more than I, and I think that the relationship the film builds with its audience is one of its key success factors. Gray develops the most realistic characters possible and understands how the dynamic should be shaped, him being a Brooklyn born man probably helped a lot during the filmmaking process.
One aspect I really enjoyed about this film is that the main character’s ideology took a different path than normal, typically when living as a poor rough teen, one usually want to get out of town, but Brian was actually proud of Brooklyn and wanted to stay where he was while everyone else bashed it and wanted to “get out.” In case you couldn’t tell, I like things that deviate from the norm.
Photo by Alan Tannenbaum
There are a few scenes in the movie that will surprise you, and one was so unique that it was a first for me; specifically the cemetery scene. This movie will touch on every emotion you have; you’ll laugh, you may cry/tear, you’ll tense up, feel a bit bored, joyful and more, which is why I think it left a more positive impression on me than originally thought.
As far as the acting is concerned, newcomer Thurston did a pretty good job in the lead role. He was frail and slowly evolved throughout the movie. Wigdor, as Brian’s brother Danny, was interesting as well. He reminded me a lot of Tom Hughes’ character in Rickey Gervais’ film, Cemetary Junction, both obnoxiously rowdy and built with a high barrier around their personal feelings. Lang was pretty good as the father Paddy but it was his inconsistent voice that bothered me. Every scene he had a different voice and, while it made sense in some spots, it just confused me in others.
This leads me into what I didn’t like about the film. When you think Irish in the 70s you immediately think of accents, whether they be off the boat or hard Brooklyn accents you’d expect something along those lines. There was no consistency in anybody’s accents, it didn’t sound like they were living in Brooklyn. Wigdor was the best followed by an inconsistent Lang. Brian’s love interest Shauna Friel (Leslie Murphy) had a hybrid voice, it almost sounded like she was from Boston at times, it was really confusing and Brian just sounded like a regular guy from the suburbs. This is really the one aspect of the film that decreased the authenticity it had going for it.
Photo by Brian Everett Francis
It may not be the most unique picture and may also be slightly predictable at times, but if you want to learn what it was like to live in Brooklyn in the 70s this film nails it on the head. It’s definitely darker than your average coming of age story and it also has its twists which makes this drama well worth seeing.
Overall, White Irish Drinkers is a good, complete coming of age story that keeps you hooked from start to finish. You’ll enjoy it a lot more if you can relate to it but hopefully, if you can’t, you can appreciate the struggles and challenges of each of the characters.
White Irish Drinkers was an official selection of the 2010 Toronto Film Festival and will be released in theaters on March 25th.
Rating: A well developed drama that you should watch with your parents, trust me, you’ll all be happy you did. 7/10
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