Angela's Ashes (1999)

Watching this makes you feel sad for poor Frank because honestly, the life he had in Ireland was absolutely chronic. His father leaving him and the family was just shocking, the father really didn't try his hardest to keep away from the alcohol. I suppose the only excuse I can give him was that he found it pretty difficult that he experienced miscarriages with Angela. However really, the parents shouldn't have been having dozens of kids because they both didn't look after themselves well enough. It certainly wasn't fair on the children. Sure back then, parents had a lot of children in the family which was ridiculous but at the same time, if the family were hard working enough to support themselves, then so be it.I don't blame Frank to go back to the states. His family and schooling were just not right for him and his lifestyle. Heck, I would be the same if my family weren't supportive enough and the fact there's lack of jobs around (hasn't changed much now in Ireland). I would love to see a sequel to this but I suppose it wouldn't be much good if it was only done 18 years later. Brilliant cast and storyline, it is so worth your time for a 2 hour movie!

While the film reflects many of the faults and weaknesses of the source material, Emily Watson's performance as Angela is one to be remembered for all time. She is absolutely electric and the screen smolders in every scene in which she works her magic. Mesmerizing and hypnotic in her painful portrait, Watson demonstrates once again why she is considered one of the greatest motion picture actors of our time. In film after film, from Hilary and Jackie to The Book Thief, this is an actor that astonishes audiences with each performance. She certainly succeeds beyond all belief in Angela's Ashes in proving the Academy Awards have lost any credibility they ever had when she did not win the Oscar for her work here, or in Breaking the Waves, Punch Drunk Love, or a dozen other incredibly beautiful film performances.

Rated 9 out of 10!!!!The film "Angela's Ashes" is a drama that is based on the book "Angela's Ashes" written by Frank McCourt. The film was directed by director Alan Parker who was nominated for two Oscars in 1978 and 1988. The film is classified as a drama because of the type of events that occur the film. The film has a serious tone throughout the whole thing which is based on the poor living conditions and poverty of Ireland between the 1920's and 1940's. Drama is defined as a situation or succession of events in a real life having the dramatic progression or emotional effect characteristic of a film or play. The story starts off with a young Frank McCourt as played by Joe Breen and his family which consists of a mother, father, and 3 brothers and a newly born baby girl all living in the United States. After a harsh time in the United States and a tragic death in the family during the depression they moved back to their home country, Ireland. In a small catholic town the father, Malachy McCourt played by Robert Carlyle unable to find a job due to being an alcoholic and a protestant. After more deaths in the family Malachy McCourt goes to England to look for a job and plans to send back money to support his family. Back at home in Ireland the McCourt family struggling to get by and the children having to go out and scrounge up food just so that they can live. While the mother, Angela McCourt played by Emily Watson has to beg for food from the people around the town who have leftovers. But what happened to Malachy McCourt who went over to England to earn money? As Frankie slowly gets older he realizes that for his family to be able to survive he has to get a job and successfully got a job pouring coal into holes in the street to supply heating to houses. Later on Frank has to go to the hospital due to a sickness he got from the unclean and dirty town due to the poor sewage from the outside toilets and people dumping their waste into the streets from the middle of the street. Growing up in a rough environment and finally a teenager Frank finds a girlfriend whom he grows very close to but in the end something goes wrong and Frank can't do anything about it. Malachy McCourt was a character that stood out to me during the film, he was played by Robert Carlyle who won the BAFTA film award in 1998 and also nominated for an Emmy in 2006 for the movie "Human Trafficking." Malachy McCourt stood out t me because of the way he portrays life he seems like he gives up too easily and whenever something goes wrong or even if something is going good he still goes to the bar and blows all of the money the family has(which is not much) on alcohol. When Malachy finally comes home from the bars he can barely walk and is singing Irish songs that he has picked up from his life. But even though Robert Carlyle played a character that was disappointing he played him very well. Without Malachy in the movie the story line would not have been as interesting as it was and without Malachy the story line would have had to be completely different. Malachy of course was born in Ireland but in the north part so he was a protestant and was disliked by the mother in law because she was catholic and also he is an alcoholic and drinks the families' money away. I didn't like Malachy because of the way he lived his life and wasting it by drinking and not supporting his family.The best scene in the film to me was when little Frank McCourt was in school and got in trouble because another kid made fun of his shoes that had a bicycle tire in the bottom so that he had tread and his feet were not showing through the bottom. Frank went to the principal's office with another kid and they both got their wrists slapped with a ruler for a punishment. This scene was my favorite because of the picture that you see when Frankie has these shoes that have a huge piece of rubber on the bottom so he walks like a duck. The worst scene in the movie to me was when Malachy went to England to find a job and he said he was going to send back the money he earned from the job. But deep down you know he will not send any money and probably spend it all on alcohol.If I was the director I would have changed the ending of the movie because the way it ends know it leaves you hanging to think about what could happen after Frankie makes it to the United States. I would have kept the movie going and had a flash forward to what Frankie could have been doing when he was 30 years old and had him with his wife and kids in front of the house holding a picture of his mother and father, and that would have been the ending to the film if I was the director.

I won't begin to repeat or re-hash the numerous excellent comments on this movie. I'm in the camp of thinking it is a masterpiece, with excellent performances. I watched the movie just this week, and am starting the book now; I'll be interested to see what I think after I read the book.The one comment I'd make is that the movie could have been shortened. I was surprised that it was nearly 2 1/2 hours long. I think that, as sometimes happens, there was a feeling that the entire book needed to be captured; some judicious editing would have been desirable. For instance, as has been pointed out, fewer scenes with the chamber pot would still have conveyed the point. (Not sure if this is a true "spoiler", but better to be safe than sorry...) Notwithstanding that, the movie never "dragged" for me; and in spite of the obviously dreary nature of much of the movie, I was not depressed by it at any point. I guess that this is partly due to the fact that the resilience of the human spirit shown through the entire story.