Susan Fitzgerald

A sexy romantic drama in which, at the outset, the characters are leading their own lives in very different worlds, though each is beset by niggling discontentment. Michelle (Renée Weldon - IFTA Best Actress) is a fast-rising young Dublin lawyer with a smart apartment overlooking the Liffey, but dissatisfied in her relationship with a doctor (Declan Conlon). Conor (Aidan Gillen) is lonely and unattached, dutifully running the traditional Dublin pub owned by his hard drinking father (Eamon Morrissey). Late one night, Michelle bursts into the bar and orders a triple vodka. The consequences are explored and developed with an honesty and credibility as these disparate characters tentatively draw closer to each other. They become lovers. There is a strong sexual attraction. But there are complications along the way and the path to love can be rocky. Something's got to give. And what's the trouble with sex? You'll see...

May, wrapped in tatters, paces back and forth engaging in conversation with the disembodied voice of her mother. In the second scene, May's voice becomes subsumed into her mother's. She paces ever more slowly as the play progresses, and the light dims so that by the fourth and final scene there is no trace of her

Based on the best selling autobiography by Irish expat Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all odds to escape the poverty endemic in the slums of pre-war Limerick. The film opens with the family in Brooklyn, but following the death of one of Frankie's siblings, they return home, only to find the situation there even worse. Prejudice against Frankie's Northern Irish father makes his search for employment in the Republic difficult despite his having fought for the IRA, and when he does find money, he spends the money on drink.

Bosco Hogan plays Joyce's alter-ego, Stephen Daedelus, growing up in Ireland in the early part of the 20th century, and at odds with the strictures of his Catholic home and family. The film charts his search for knowledge and understanding, during a decline in his family's circumstances, that leads him to revelations on the nature of art, beauty and politics. However his personal renaissance makes him feel unwelcome in his own country, and forces him to make a choice between exile as artist or staying and facing personal defeat.