Roddy Doyle's book The Snapper ends with a very young single mother in the hospital looking at her new baby. The mother makes a noise. Another patient in the room asks her if she is crying. No, she replies, "I'm laughing." The film version perfectly captures the bittersweet tone of the book. Colm Meaney's patriarch embodies the film's attitude. He is full of contradictions: humble, but proud; the king of the house, but easily silenced by his wife and daughter; a complete failure as a financial provider, but a loving and emotionally giving father. The early scenes of the film establish the rapport of the Curley clan with an economy and clarity that communicates how close they are. The effect of Sharon's pregnancy on the family, Sharon's friends, and Dessie's friends are related in tightly written scenes that deliver a laugh and a tear, usually simultaneously. The filmmakers smartly wait to reveal the father of the child until halfway through the movie, and then only to the audience, not to the other characters. This leads to some beautifully shaped scenes loaded with dramatic irony during the last half of the film. This was the middle book in Doyle's Barrytown trilogy. Where The Commitments was more funny than sad, and The Van more sad than funny, The Snapper dared to combine the two in equal measure. A bittersweet slice of Irish life, The Snapper contains very human characters brought to life with beautifully nuanced performances, writing, and direction.