Merrithew Stability Ball For Kids, 45Cm (Green) -

by Merrithew

Overview

The Snapper is Stephen Frears's adaptation of the second book in Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy. The Curley family is a poor but eccentric and loving Irish family. Oldest daughter Sharon (Tina Kellegher) announces she is pregnant, but refuses to reveal the identity of the father to anyone. Her father, Dessie (Colm Meaney), is supportive, but begins to chafe at the derisive gossip aimed at his family and his daughter. This leads to a confrontation between the two that is, like the rest of the movie, simultaneously funny and sad. The family waits in the hospital as Sharon gives birth to the snapper (Irish slang for an infant). The other books in the Barrytown Trilogy were also adapted into films featuring Colm Meaney as the father: The Commitments, directed by Alan Parker, and The Van, directed by Stephen Frears. Doyle had a hand in the screenplay for all three.

Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert

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.

Product Details

UPC:	0690650062246
Manufacturer:	Merrithew
Publication date:	05/01/2017