Monday's Movie-Evelyn

A Novel Menagerie asks us to post about a movie that you watched the week before. We usually watch quite a few movies over the weekend and it is sometimes difficult to only discuss one.

The movie that tugged at my heart this weekend was Evelyn.


Here are the details of the film:

Genre: Drama

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Aidan Quinn, Julianna Margulies

Runtime: 1 hr, 33 mn

MPAA Rating: PG

Here is a synopsis of the movie from the MSN Movie website:

One man takes on the Irish family law system and the Catholic Church in a bid to be reunited with his children in this drama, based on a true story. In 1953, Desmond Doyle (Pierce Brosnan) was a house painter and decorator who, despite a strong work ethic, had a hard time holding on to steady work. Desmond's wife had grown tired of her marriage and her husband's financial problems, and one day walked away from her home, leaving Desmond to raise their three children on his own. While Desmond struggles to keep body and soul together for his children, his sporadic employment eventually attracts the attention of the law, and a court order sends his two sons and young daughter to separate Catholic orphanages until Desmond can prove he's capable of properly supporting them. However, Desmond discovers merely getting work is not enough to bring his children back to him, and when he learns that his daughter, Evelyn (Sophie Vavasseur), is having a rough time of it at the hands of several stern nuns, he becomes determined to win their custody in a court of law. Through Bernadette (Julianna Margulies), a barmaid who has caught his eye, Desmond meets Michael Beattie (Stephen Rea), a lawyer and Bernadette's brother. While Michael doesn't believe Desmond's case can be won in an Irish court, his partner Nick Barron (Aidan Quinn), an expatriate American who lost custody of his own children in a divorce proceeding, is eager to help, and they agree to take the case. However, they both realize they're fighting an uphill battle, and so they persuade Thomas Connolly (Alan Bates), a former football star who became one of Ireland's most respected barristers, to lend his knowledge and prestige to the case. Leading man Bronson also served a co-producer for Evelyn; Bruce Beresford directed, who previously collaborated with Pierce Brosnan on Mister Johnson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

My Movie Thoughts:

Boy I have really been on a kick when it comes to watching movies based on true stories lately. Evelyn was yet another example of one man's battle against the legal system to be reunited with his children. Desmond Doyle finds himself struggling to raise his three children after his wife leaves them behind. Desmond finds himself unemployed, and during this time in Ireland, if a mother was not present and the father was unemployed, the legal system would take the children away. It was heart wrenching to see Desmond's children being taken away from the one man that cared for them. They were put into orphanages that were full of children with similar problems whose only wishes were to be returned home to a parent that loved them. The courts indicated this would only be temporary, but as time went on it was becoming more and more difficult for Desmond to regain custody of his children. It was very educational to see exactly how the court system in Ireland worked at that time, and how one man helped to set the bar for future cases that would put the interest of the children before all else. My husband and I both enjoyed this movie and I am going to rate it 4 out of 5 bags of popcorn.