Evelyn (2002)

I recognised the title because of the leading James Bond 007 actor starring, but that's about all I knew, I was going to give it a chance, from director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Double Jeopardy). Based on the true story, Desmond Doyle (Pierce Brosnan) is devastated when his wife Charlotte (Mairead Devlin) abandons him and his children, nine year old daughter Evelyn (Sophie Vavasseur) and her two brothers Maurice (Hugh McDonagh) and Dermot (Niall Beagan), on Boxing Day. Soon after the authorities take away the children because Desmond is unemployed and there is no mother in the house to care for them, he tries to go against the Catholic Church and the Irish courts. He wants them back as they have been placed in Church-run orphanages, but it is hard to get money, and he has unreliable people saying they can help, even a sympathetic judge says the financial situation can turn around, but doesn't. Desmond is trying to get help in the courts from friends such as American lawyer Nick Barron (Aidan Quinn), barmaid Bernadette Beattie (Ghost Ship's Julianna Margulies), her solicitor brother Michael Beattie (The Crying Game's Stephen Rea), and old mentor Tom Connolly (Alan Bates). While they are trying everything they can to show that the children being with their father is right, Evelyn and her brothers are suffering abuse living inside the orphanages. Desmond suffers the death of his father Henry (Father Ted's Frank Kelly, ironically the housekeeper in his show was Mrs. Doyle) and continuing lack of money, but he finds a way and the case becomes a big talking point in Ireland, and in the end, after ups and downs to the conclusion, he does win Evelyn and his sons back. Also starring John Lynch as Senior Counsel Mr. Wolfe, Karen Ardiff as Sister Felicity, Andrea Irvine as Sister Brigid and Marian Quinn as Sister Theresa. Brosnan gives a nice pleasant performance, being Irish in real life helps as well, and the supporting cast members, many also Irish, do well as well, the story is poignant but predictable, and the courtroom drama parts could have been a little better, but overall, it's not a bad real life social drama. Worth watching!

I saw bits and pieces of this movie,Evelyn, today. I really would like to watch it again in its entirety. Does anyone know when it will air again and on what network? It is a wonderful story. The all star cast is great esp. Aidan Quinn and Pierce Brosnan. Also, does anyone know if it is based on a true story? I've never heard of the movie before today. It makes for good holiday programming during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays even though it does not contain a holiday theme. It's heartwarming family-type appeal, I think, would be well received during this time of year. I would strongly urge Oxygen or the Hallmark channel to run it again. There should be more movies and programs such as this on TV these days promoting family values and wholesome settings for our children. So much of television is just wasted time and it is better left off. "Silence is golden"!

Based on the true story of a man who contested the Supreme Court in 1950s Ireland as he fought to gain complete custody of his children, EVELYN is a departure for Pierce Brosnan. Known for his television work in "Remington Steele" and for his movie appearances as James Bond, he's come to symbolize suave sophistication and any woman's ultimate romantic icon.With this movie, Brosnan attempts to go against type. He succeeds to a degree, because for the entire movie, all one can see is Brosnan with an Irish accent, playing a sweet hard working Irishman who has that Irish temper that flares in one inopportune (but justifiable) moment and will come to bite him later on via a cartoon vengeful nun. Note the mention of the word Irish: it's for a reason. I felt as though I was being hammered with it, it's as if the movie wanted to make sure I knew just where EVELYN was taking place.EVELYN has another big problem. Several siblings get separated after they are taken away from Brosnan's Desmond Doyle, but the story chooses, for inexplicable reasons, to focus on the Dickensian experiences of the daughter -- who grants the movie its title -- who meets the aforementioned cartoon nasty nun who seems all too eager to enforce her discipline.Also, even at its 90 minutes it seems just a tad long and a shade too manipulative for me to really feel the story. A moment when young Sophie Vavausseur as Evelyn has to testify her case against the prosecution does feel real, and has a quiet mysticism about it. Other than that, much of what happens in the movie has a perfunctory element to it. The inclusion of actors Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Alan Bates, and Julianna Margulies brings little relevance. KRAMER VS. KRAMER, Irish-style.

Possibly you're a cynic and think the blarney is laid on too abundantly in this movie. Or you might be calling it "O'Kramer vs. O'Kramer" and this isn't too sappy and predictable to be taken seriously. Well, guess what, it is, and I loved every minute.Pierce Brosnan, who I used to consider a cardboard cut-out of an actor, plays Desmond Doyle. He's fantastic as a father whose daughter and two sons are removed from their home by the government after their Mother ( in this case, the term can be used in the biological sense only) abandons the family. This being Ireland in the 1950s, there was a law that stated the government can intervene when one parent is found to be insufficient. Desmond has to quit drinking, deal with the death of his father, find a lawyer and rarely see his kids. Its all okay at the end, and I have to mention that I hope the children's Mother and a certain Sister Bridget have the thankless job of eating ---- in hell for all eternity.Worth mentioning from the cast is Alan Bates, a hard-drinking consultant to Doyle's case, and his wishes to hear (or not hear) a 'however' from the judges were hilarious.I had a small problem with the fact that the Mother was not on trial, literally, because it was her abandonment of her family that led to them being separated. Anyway, its a terrific movie. 8/10.