Five unmarried sisters in Ireland, circa 1936. Amid harsh poverty, these Christian women listen to a radio tune and dance with an abandon that rivals a pagan harvest festival. Onstage, in Brian Friel's Tony-winning play, the moment is one of theatrical magic. Director Pat O'Connor's screen version can't match it. The release of tension doesn't feel as powerful in a film that lets us see outside the Mundy sisters' constricted kitchen. Still, a luminous cast reveals long-buried feelings. Meryl Streep finds the expansive soul behind prim schoolteacher Kate. And she is matched by Kathy Burke's bawdy Maggie, Brid Brennan's secretive Agnes, Sophie Thompson's slow-witted Rose and Catherine McCormack's bold Christina, who never married the father of her son. It's the mysterious return of brother Jack (Michael Gambon) from the African missions that spurs a family crisis. The movie is no more than a delicate whisper as each sister reveals her grieving heart, but it's no less extraordinary for that.
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/dancing-at-lughnasa-19981113#ixzz1xfv9LSCT unmarried sisters in Ireland, circa 1936. Amid harsh poverty, these Christian women listen to a radio tune and dance with an abandon that rivals a pagan harvest festival. Onstage, in Brian Friel's Tony-winning play, the moment is one of theatrical magic. Director Pat O'Connor's screen version can't match it. The release of tension doesn't feel as powerful in a film that lets us see outside the Mundy sisters' constricted kitchen. Still, a luminous cast reveals long-buried feelings. Meryl Streep finds the expansive soul behind prim schoolteacher Kate. And she is matched by Kathy Burke's bawdy Maggie, Brid Brennan's secretive Agnes, Sophie Thompson's slow-witted Rose and Catherine McCormack's bold Christina, who never married the father of her son. It's the mysterious return of brother Jack (Michael Gambon) from the African missions that spurs a family crisis. The movie is no more than a delicate whisper as each sister reveals her grieving heart, but it's no less extraordinary
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/dancing-at-lughnasa-19981113#ixzz1xfvpw8cr
Emma, I think listening to this and taking notes would be a good help www.ucd.ie/news/2009/01JAN09/230109_friel.html
1
I went to 'Dancing At Lughnasa' (pronounced 'Lou-na-sa') because being Irish I was familiar with the Brian Friel play of the same name which debuted several years ago. Going in to the movie I expected a good movie but what I witnessed was a truly excellent movie which really affected me. The movie really painted a very rich and poignant portrayal of the dynamics of an Irish family during the 1930's.
The movie is centered on the life of five unmarried sisters living together in County Donegal, Ireland(County in North West Irish Republic about 150 miles north west of Dublin). The sisters live on the bread line surviving mainly on Kate's School Teacher Salary.
Meryl Streep was truly amazing in the lead role of eldest sister Kate. Kate the very strong willed school teacher and family leader was brought to life perfectly by Meryl. Often times the thing that annoys me about films about Ireland is that American actors are just not believable in the roles, but in Dancing At Lughnasa, Streep embodied the Irish Spinster of the 1930's to perfection.
The sisters brother who is a priest returns to them after years away as a missionary in Africa. The family is forced to deal with a brother who has changed much during their separation and it brings extra strain to a family that is already only barely holding together.
Just watching the family interaction is incredible, watching the complex relationships so wonderfully acted is extremely touching. Tough social issues of the time are tackled in the film such as Christina and her illegitimate son, their brother's mental deterioration, and of course my favorite; simple minded Rose. Rose who is mildly
History’ by Brian Friel. In this essay the author examines the extent to which Is the character of Hugh O’Neill is more influenced by private feelings or by public duty. In Brian Friels play ‘Making History’ the reader wonders whether the character of Hugh O’Neill is more influenced by private feelings or public duty. By “private feeling’s” I mean beliefs, private views and opinions and his ‘public duty’ is his obligations to the Irish people. It should be noted that Friels portrayal of the…
now absorbing herself in the music as a means of escaping from the harsh reality of her present situation. Friel indicates that as Maggie listens to the music she is ‘breathing deeply, rapidly’. Her ‘deep breathing’ indicates that Maggie is trying at this point to control her anger before it gets the better of her. Her ‘rapid’ breathing is an indication of this anger and frustration. Friel then draws our attention to Maggie’s facial expressions as her face becomes ‘animated’, this indicates that…
is the only one in the Mundy house who believes in the importance of education, in contrast to her sisters who spend much of their time absorbed in domesticity and wondering about the outside world, with little appreciation for their own culture. Friel may be suggesting that it is the Irish people’s lack of knowledge which was the fundamental cause for their defeat against England in the 1930s. Had the nationals a clearer picture of their culture, they may have been able to resist the supremacy of…
Alisha james Introduction to Mental Health Counseling Week 9 Assignment Trauma-Causing Events Natural Disaster On August 29, 2005, one of the deadliest hurricanes devastated the historic city of New Orleans, better known as Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina claimed the lives of over 2,000 New Orleans’ residents and left millions of others without a place to call home. In a city completely surrounded by water, it was no match to the hurricane and unreliable levees that led to massive flooding…
Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus Cambridge International Level 3 Pre-U Certificate in LITERATURE IN ENGLISH For examination in 2013, 2014 and 2015 Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus Literature in English (9765) Cambridge International Level 3 Pre-U Certificate in Literature in English (Principal) For examination in 2013, 2014 and 2015 QN 500/3685/3 www.cie.org.uk/cambridgepreu 1 Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus Support CIE provides comprehensive support for all its qualifications, including the Cambridge Pre-U. There…
03/11/2013 Business in the Global Environment Dr. Veronica Rappoport Lecture 5 Topics Covered in this Course 1. Is the world flat? 2. Long-term trends 3. Business practices across countries 4. Global strategies: - International trade - Foreign direct investment 5. International capital flows 6. Global imbalances and the Great Recession 2 1 03/11/2013 Recall last class • Under free trade countries have an incentive to specialize in their comparative…
‘A Critical analysis of the interface between theory and practice in reflecting on creative teaching and learning.’ In education, creativity is a concept that is used essentially as a metaphor. It signifies open-mindedness, exploration, the celebration of difference and originality. (Cullingford, 2007, p. 133) Creativity has been circulating education for centuries however, being such a multifaceted domain, it is difficult to pin point one meaningful definition. In the context of education, creative…
The Yellow Wallpaper Notes/Research Documents http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/index.html Dr. L. Kit Wheeler’s Website of Literary definitions Manuscripts from the Gothic period of art likewise have strange monsters and fantastical creatures depicted in the margins of the page, and elaborate vine-work or leaf-work painted along the borders. The term has come to be used much more loosely to refer to gloomy or frightening literature. Contrast with horror story, Gothic literature and Gothic novel…