The Snapper (1993)

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

That was an excellent one.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

The Snapper is directed by Stephen Frears and adapted to screenplay by Roddy Doyle from his own novel of the same name. It stars Colm Meaney, Tina Kellegher, Ruth McCabe, Fionnula Murphy and Brendan Gleeson.The Snapper is the middle part of what became known as Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy (The Commitments and The Van either side of it). The Snapper of the title is a baby expected by young Sharon Curley (Kellegher) when she unexpectedly falls pregnant during a drunken liaison. Refusing to name who the father is, the strain on the large Curley family reaches breaking point, especially when the neighbourhood and so called friends begin to point and judge with malice. Can the Curley family pull through? It's going to need some humour and no end of Irish family grit to do so.Affectionate realism draped in comedy, The Snapper in Frears' hands unfolds as an original take on the stress caused to a family by an unplanned pregnancy. Initially the film's structure feels bumpy, the blending of family drama with uproariously scripted comedy, but once you settle into it you realise that this is exactly how the Curley family are feeling, how they cope. As we get deeper into the picture, and there is much human depth here, peripheral characters come alive and the relationship between Sharon and her father Des (Meaney) really holds the attention whilst simultaneously tickling the requisite emotional threads.Impeccably performed (Meaney, Kellegher and McCabe are terrific) and with a great script brought vividly to life by Frears, The Snapper is very much a recommended bowl of comedy drama Irish Stew. 8/10

What a fantastic film. I recently watched it for the first time in years and, true to form, it had me keeling over with laughter once again. "The Snapper" is Irish humour at its best. One of the best bits is surely Dessie's "I suppose a ride is out of the question?". And no, he's not asking his wife to give him a lift to the pub :) He's seeking a different kind of thrill altogether! This film provides a wonderful insight into, and reflection of, Irish humour. It abounds with sarcasm and pure Irish wit. As an Irish person born and living in Ireland, I identify with this film on many levels - although I did not grow up in a household anywhere near as eventful as the Curleys' one! Nowadays the parts where the pregnant Sharon drinks away to her heart's content may well have been left out, since so much has since been discovered about the effects alcohol can have on an unborn child. However, it goes without saying that there are women the world over drinking themselves to oblivion throughout the pregnancies! Everything about this film is realistic. Colm Meaney gives a wonderful performance and he never even seems as though he's acting! There's nothing false about "The Snapper", simply a realistic storyline where what at first seems like a tragic event is accepted and dealt with through jaw-breaking humour.

We live in a world where words have become overused, "great" is used to describe breakfast and "excellent" describes the feeling of receiving an expected letter on time.In my honest opinion, "The Snapper" is a classic, in every sense of the old meaning of the word.Here is a beautifully written piece to begin with, a beautifully crafted piece to expand, and a great achievement in directing and acting out a work that is so much a classic of Dublin life and its wonderful people. This very funny and often heart wrenching film, is a work of art that belongs alongside James Joyce and a host of other great Irish artists. It goes beyond comedy or drama, in its ability to reveal the very heart and soul of human existence, and at the same time, touch ours.The Snapper is much more than an entertaining and very funny story, which it is by every inch, it is also a great classic of Dublin life, not the life of the Blooms, but of the Curleys.Regards, Dracher

Fine acting by Colm Meaney (Dessie Curley) and Tina Kellegher (Sharon Curley) carry this offbeat tragi-comedy about the perils of out of wedlock pregnancy in a working class Irish family. I think the Pope would approve of how this subject was handled, if he approved of the subject being handled in the first place.What do I mean? Well, here's an unwanted pregnancy that in the apprehension of some people could arguably be seen as a result of something about as close to a rape as it gets without technically being rape, depending upon how you define your "technically." (She was drunk and an older man took advantage of her in the parking lot of the pub.) I won't say more for fear of spoiling the plot for you, but be forewarned that some viewers will find the whole thing uncomfortable.Roddy Doyle, the gifted fictionalist (Paddy Clarke, Ha, Ha, Ha, The Woman Who Walked into Doors, etc) wrote the novel and the screenplay. Stephen Frears (My Beautiful Laundrette 1985, Dangerous Liaisons 1988, etc.) directed. Doyle is a master of dialogue and has a warm sense of people that he imposes on his readers. Known as a realistic writer, he is actually a sentimentalist with a keen feel for the foibles of his characters.There is a kind of TV sit-com feeling to Frears's direction in that nothing really depressing occurs. There's a neighborhood feel to the taunting, some windows are broken, and there's a fistfight, but none of the kids are on heroin or planting bombs. There's little violence and the sex depicted is minimalist. There's a sense that nothing is really wrong in the world, just some slips of behavior and some misunderstandings. You realize, for example, that despite Sharon's continued drinking the baby is not going to be born suffering from any kind of alcoholic syndrome. Furthermore, although Dessie has six kids to support, we never see him working overtime or worrying about money. Doyle is also a political writer and has a message. His message here is that the gift of life is precious over and above how it is conceived and that narrow-minded men (grandfather-to-be Dessie Curley) can, through love, understanding and a little effort, rise above their prejudices and do the right thing and feel the right way. Politically speaking, the film walks softly and carries no banner between the two sides of the abortion question, clearly identifying with the pro-lifers without overtly offending the pro-choice side.Perhaps it is best to leave the politics behind and, like many viewers, simply enjoy the laughs, the realistic dialogue and the warm, chaotic family atmosphere presented and save the moralizing for another day. By the way, you might have to watch this twice to catch some of the humor. Either that or have a good ear for the Irish brogue. For myself, I could have used subtitles.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)