This familiar pattern of headstrong girl and passions brimming beneath the surface is well directed by first time Scottish helmer Gillies MacKinnon, though the pace slows in middle reels as plot gives way to the troupe's enjoyable stage performances.
The Playboys (1992)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:19
Rotten:2
Average Rating:6.8/10
Synopsis: In a small Irish village, strong-willed Tara shocks the townspeople by having a baby out of wedlock and refusing to name the father. Despite her efforts to remain independent, she finds herself the... In a small Irish village, strong-willed Tara shocks the townspeople by having a baby out of wedlock and refusing to name the father. Despite her efforts to remain independent, she finds herself the object of desire of two very different suitors. When Tara chooses one of them, the other jealously forces them into a situation that will change their lives forever. [More]
Starring: Robin Wright, Aidan Quinn, Albert Finney, Milo O'Shea
Starring: Robin Wright, Aidan Quinn, Albert Finney, Milo O'Shea
Director: Gillies MacKinnon
Director: Gillies MacKinnon
Reviews for The Playboys
The wry Irish wit sits like froth on the head of a glass of Guinness, masking a deceptively bitter brew.
This absorbing film boasts several outstanding performances as well as a richness in both story and character that is much too rare these days.
The film is set in 1957, before TV and cars became popular, thus explaining the centrality of two institutions in the Irish village: the church and the theater.
With time, place and mood sensitively evoked, this is solid, intelligent entertainment, mercifully free of the usual 'Oirish' clichés.
This bit of blarney depicts a sweet, silly love triangle in 1950s provincial Ireland.
Mr. Finney, looking puffy and ravaged in the role of a man who has lost much of himself to drink (and whose obsessive interest in Tara somehow offers him the chance of redemption), brings a furious, buried intensity to Hegarty's longing.
The Playboys is low-key and disarming, and its appeal sneaks up on you.
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