The best Bríd Brennan’s movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Bríd Brennan’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Bríd Brennan.
Brooklyn
7.5/10
In 1950s Ireland and New York, young Eilis Lacey has to choose between two men and two countries.
Excalibur
7.3/10
A surreal adaptation of Sir Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur", chronicling Arthur Pendragon's conception, his rise to the throne, the search by his Knights of the Round Table for the Holy Grail, and ultimately his death.
Belfast
7.2/10
Buddy is a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.
Florence Foster Jenkins
6.8/10
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress, who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.
Topsy-Turvy
7.3/10
After their production "Princess Ida" meets with less-than-stunning reviews, the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan is strained to breaking. Their friends and associates attempt to get the two to work together again, which opens the way to "The Mikado," one of the duo's greatest successes.
Calm with Horses
6.8/10
In darkest rural Ireland, ex-boxer Douglas 'Arm' Armstrong has become the feared enforcer for the drug-dealing Devers family, whilst also trying to be a good father to his autistic five-year-old son, Jack. Torn between these two families, Arm's loyalties are truly tested when he is asked to kill for the first time.
Shadow Dancer
6.2/10
Set in 1990s Belfast, a woman is forced to betray all she believes in for the sake of her son.
Ghostwatch
7.4/10
For Halloween 1992, the BBC decides to broadcast an investigation into the supernatural, hosted by TV chat-show legend Michael Parkinson. Parky (assisted by Mike Smith, Sarah Greene & Craig Charles) and a camera crew attempt to discover the truth behind the most haunted house in Britain. This ground-breaking live television experiment does not go as planned, however.
Dancing at Lughnasa
6.3/10
Five unmarried sisters make the most of their simple existence in rural Ireland in the 1930s.
Sunday
7/10
Sunday tells the story of an infamous day in Derry, North of Ireland and how the events of that day were subsequently covered up by the British Government of the time. On Sunday 30th January 1972 a peaceful civil rights march against internment (imprisonment without trial), organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) ended with 13 marchers shot dead and 15 wounded. It became known throughout the world as Bloody Sunday. Told primarily from the perspective of the Derry community, juxtaposed with the British Army/state's preparations and reaction to the day, Sunday communicates the forensic and emotional truth of what happened
Felicia's Journey
7/10
A solitary middle-aged bachelor and a naive Irish teenager transform one another's lives to arrive at a place of recognition, redemption and wisdom in Atom Egoyan's adaptation of William Trevor's celebrated 1994 novel. Seventeen and pregnant, Felicia travels to England in search of her lover and is found instead by Joseph Ambrose Hilditch, a helpful catering manager whose kindness masks a serial killer. Hilditch has murdered several young women, but he has no conscious awareness of the crimes; like Felicia, he doesn't see his true self. Felicia's Journey is a story of innocence lost and regained: Felicia awakens to the world's dangers and duplicities; and Hilditch, who grew up lonely and unloved, comes to realize what was taken from him, and what he himself has taken.
Guinevere
4.8/10
As border wars break out in Camelot, the young princess Guinevere is taken to live in safety with the High Priestess L'Fei. When King Arthur claims the crown, Guinevere is promised to him and she must leave her true love, Prince Lancelot in order to unite the land. In a tale of honor, loyalty and the price of war, Guinevere is forced to choose between the only man she has ever loved and her duty to her kingdom.
Lost Lives
7.4/10
This poignant testament to the physical and emotional cost of war, centres on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Who Bombed Birmingham?
7.6/10
Docudrama film exploring the efforts of World in Action researchers Ian MacBride and Chris Mullin in proving that the "Birmingham Six" only admitted to the bombing under extreme duress, and that the five IRA members were in fact responsible for the deadly attacks
Maeve
6.8/10
Maeve returns home to Belfast after a long absence. Her arrival in the city stimulates a series of memories of childhood and adolescence both in herself and other people.
The Truth Commissioner
5.7/10
Set in a post-Troubles Northern Ireland, The Truth Commissioner follows the fictional story of Henry Stanfield, played by Roger Allam, a career diplomat who has just been appointed as Truth Commissioner to Northern Ireland. Eager to make good as a peacemaker, the Prime Minister urges a commission following the South African model of Truth and Reconciliation. But, though Stanfield starts bravely, he quickly uncovers some bloody and inconvenient truths about those now running the country; truths which none of those in power are prepared to have revealed.
Lorna
6.8/10
In the follow-up to Graham Reid’s trilogy of ‘Billy’ plays, Billy's sister Lorna Martin is left to care for their Uncle Andy. Lorna feels trapped, but Andy wishes to give her the freedom she desires.
Trojan Eddie
6.1/10
The story of Eddie, a small town ex con, who discovers he has talent for selling anything and everything. Eddie sees a way to rise above the low life by setting up on his own; what he didn't bargin for was the murder and mahem along the way.
James Ellis: An Actor's Life
Documentary tracing the life of James Ellis, one of Northern Ireland’s best loved actors.
Four Days in July
6.7/10
Two couples, one Catholic, one Protestant, exist on two sides of the chasm that is everyday life in Northern Ireland. Both women are expecting babies, both couples tell offbeat stories, both couples get by with what little they have. Yet Mike Leigh allows his actors to show not how much but how little these two couple have in common. "Four Days in July" is wonderful yet scathing look at the turmoil that has engulfed Northern Ireland for generations.
