Black Irish (2007)

31% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(1,618 ratings)

A young man struggles to grow up with principles as his family begins to self-destruct around him in this coming of age drama. Cole McKay (Michael Angarano) is a boy in his middle-teens growing up in an Irish-Catholic family in Boston. While Cole has dreams of playing major league baseball some day,… More A young man struggles to grow up with principles as his family begins to self-destruct around him in this coming of age drama. Cole McKay (Michael Angarano) is a boy in his middle-teens growing up in an Irish-Catholic family in Boston. While Cole has dreams of playing major league baseball some day, his parents Desmond (Brendan Gleeson) and Margaret (Melissa Leo) are blind to his ambitions, and his older brother Terry (Tom Guiry) is a petty criminal who is unwittingly drawing Cole into his orbit. While Margaret is obsessed with projecting an image that the McKay family are happy and God-fearing folk, Desmond has been sinking deeper into depression ever since he lost his job, and his marriage is slowly but surely falling apart. The family's pride takes a body blow when Cole's teenage sister Kathleen (Emily Van Camp) discovers she's pregnant, but Cole decides it's time he took on some adult responsibilities, and gets himself a part-time job at a restaurant. Black Irish was the first directorial effort for screenwriter Brad Gann. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Brad Gann
Written By: Brad Gann
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Oct 26, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Jan 8, 2008
Studio: Anywhere

Critic Reviews

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
While the film has many well-observed moments...it ultimately suffers from its relentless piling on of crises.
, Los Angeles Times
Black Irish boasts many memorable scenes and fine characterizations but ultimately plays more like a series of snapshots come to life than as an organically satisfying story.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
A small-bore Southie coming-of-age drama whose heart is just a bit bigger than its cliches.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
The film draws strength from sensitively scrutinizing character, but tends to confuse Catholic guilt with narrative redemption.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
Irish coming-of-age Beantown drama reminiscent of Angela's Ashes, especially in terms of maintaining a relentlessly pessimistic and morose tone.
David Noh, Film Journal International
Could almost be labeled a Gaelic minstrel show, so riddled is it with every conceivable cliché and stereotype ever associated with the sons of Eire.
Geoff Berkshire, Metromix.com
It'll be worth watching to see if [director Brad Gann] plays to his strengths on future projects.
Chad Greene, Boxoffice Magazine
The problem with Black Irish is that, like those photos shifted to cover the holes, not everything is hanging in quite the right place here.
Richard Horgan, FilmStew.com
Gleeson inhabits the character in such a way that one cannot help but wonder how many Irish fathers like this he has personally known.
Tim Grierson, L.A. Weekly
It's too sincere and thoughtful to be immediately dismissed. But it is terribly frustrating viewing: so much time and creative energy spent making a movie that, in one form or another, the audience has already seen.
Kam Williams, Leader Newspapers, New Jersey
A drismal drama rather reminiscent of Angela's Ashes, especially in terms of maintaining a relentlessly pessimistic and morose tone.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
The difficulties of coming-of-age in an Irish-American family with a violent older brother and a self-destructive father.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Writer-director-producer Brad Gann's tale of growing up in blue-collar South Boston features a strong central performance, but it doesn't miss a cliche of hardscrabble adolescence.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
The blarney isn't the only thing that's thick in writer-director Brad Gann's Black Irish.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

♥˩ƳИИ &

Michael Angarano, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Gulry, Melissa Leo, Emily VanCamp, Michael Rispoli, Francis Capra DIRECTED BY BRAD GANN Wow. This movie was not at all what I was expecting. it was much better then what I had anticipated. I thought it was just going to be based around… More
Michael Angarano, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Gulry, Melissa Leo, Emily VanCamp, Michael Rispoli, Francis Capra DIRECTED BY BRAD GANN Wow. This movie was not at all what I was expecting. it was much better then what I had anticipated. I thought it was just going to be based around baseball and I was really wrong. Although baseball is always there, the story takes on much more. This is about a family that has had many misfortunes, two parents who are in a loveless marriage and who blame each other for their mishaps. An older son who is well on his way to being in and out of prison and who believes his parents don't care for him. A daughter being forced into doing what her mother believes is morally right even when her daughter doesn't agree with it. A younger son who is just desperately trying to connect with his father only to be shut down at every opportunity. Great performances all around, but Angarano and Guiry stand out for me in this movie, They really give there all in this film. It's at times funny, intense and heart breaking. Just really good and I hope more people see it.
Nani V

Bravo! Loved it!!! Michael Angarano was great in here. This movie made me laugh and cry...lovely film.
Chosen 7

Not as good as i thought it would be [based on the trailer] but it had some good performances. Tom Guiry was the highlight of the movie despite the fact that he for the most part he played a slightly subdued version of the character he played on the short-lived cult hit tv show The… More
Not as good as i thought it would be [based on the trailer] but it had some good performances. Tom Guiry was the highlight of the movie despite the fact that he for the most part he played a slightly subdued version of the character he played on the short-lived cult hit tv show The Black Donnellys.
Marion R

I really liked it and Angarano was really good. It's a pretty tough story, but a very neat watch.
Leo L

Oh wow! I thought I had already rated this before. Hmmm.....this is definitely one of interest about a boy who struggles with the indifference of leaving childhood, entering adulthood. The story plot follows his pursuits of dealing with just about everything life tosses at him.… More
Oh wow! I thought I had already rated this before. Hmmm.....this is definitely one of interest about a boy who struggles with the indifference of leaving childhood, entering adulthood. The story plot follows his pursuits of dealing with just about everything life tosses at him. Family. Friends. Desires. Choices and decisions. A must-see. Great cast!