Evelyn

In Ireland 1953, Desmond Doyle (Brosnan) didn't have the right to bring up his three children on his own. After his wife had left him the State placed his two sons and his daughter Evelyn (Vavasseur) into care until Desmond had gained full employment and a stable home for the children. But even after he had achieved this, the State still refused to give him his children back so Desmond's only option was to take the Government to court.

Based on a true story, Desmond Doyle changed Irish Family Law for the better but it isn't much of an interesting story.

The whole movie is very predictable, which is always the same with historical fact based dramas but when the journey to that expected ending conjures up no real surprises along the way then you are left with a decidingly average tale.

The performances are fine. Brosnan leaves James Bond behind and gives a well-acted performance but you still can't help thinking that he looks too suave and sophisticated to be a painter and decorator. He has good support from the always-excellent Stephen Rea, Alan Bates and Aidan Quinn and Julianne Margulies pulls off a good Irish accent as Desmond's love interest. Young actress Sophie Vavasseur as Evelyn is fine. She is cute but sometimes you feel that she isn't that natural in front of the camera, as some of her lines seem to be forced out of her.

The movie suffers from been far too sickly-sweet in parts and overly predictable in others. The subject matter is interesting but not enough to constitute a motion picture. . I would have liked to have known more about the reasons behind these excessively strict family laws other than just washing over them as part of the Catholic faith and the reason why no one had challenged this ruling before hand. What we are left with is a film that glosses over most of the issues it is trying to inform you about, making it very average.

Audio commentary from director Bruce Bereford and producer/star Pierce Brosnan, 'The Story Behind The Story' featurette, Behind the scenes footage, Interactive menu & Scene access

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2003