The Snapper

The Snapper is a movie made from the middle novel in Roddy Doyle's trilogy of life in Dublin Ireland. A comedic view of a teenage girl's pregnancy and her place in her working class family. Directed by Stephen Frears who also directed the The Hi-Lo Country, High Fidelity, Mary Reilly, The Grifters, and the acclaimed My Beautiful Laundrette. The Irish blues music based movie, The Commitments, based on Doyle's the first book. Doyle's third book, The Van has also been made into a movie.
The actors....

• Tina Kelleger, a native Dubliner, plays Sharon Curley, the young lady who has a bun in the oven.
• Colm Meaney, of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", plays the father, Dessie Curley. Colm Meany was also in The Commitments. Originally this part was meant for Stephen Rea, a break of good luck for the director, Colm Meaney is great in this role.
• Ruth McCabe, plays the mother, Kay Curley.
• Brendan Gleeson, plays Dessie's good friend, Lester. Gleeson is an active man, acting in dozens of movies, with significant parts in Braveheart and Gangs of New York.

The term snapper is in reference to the baby. This movie starts in the cramped Dublin home of a Catholic family with 6 children and 2 parents. Sharon, which for most of the movie's Irish brogue, sounded like Shardon, starts in front of the mirror before going downstairs to tell her parents she is three months pregnant. The parents reaction was as you might expect, loud, angry and dismissive. To end the talk, Dessie brings his pregnant daughter down to the pub to drink some Guinness.

Through the pregnancy, Shardin cusses like a drunk sailor and refuses to tell the world the truth, that the fat old man across the street impregnated her one night when she was drunk. For this Shardin is ashamed, but the truth gets out and who did the honors seems to be more shameful than pregnancy itself. The family grapples with the issue but comes to accept and wish for the addition to their home. The ending is very happy, a healthy girl, Georgina.

Score 40 of 50, a very good movie, but watch out there is an unbelievable amount of shite.

• Character Development 8 out of 10. The entire family already overwhelmed with members overcomes ridicule to find happiness.
• Acting 8 out of 10. Maybe they are just being their Irish selves, but no matter, very believable.
• Photography, cinematography 7 of 10. Good work, especially effective in showing the family in cramped quarters. Bar scenes of Tina and her girlfriends are almost intimidating.
• Writing , script 10 out of 10. Better than the Commitments and that was pretty damned good. Doyle manages to build deep souls.
• Concept 7 out of 10. A theme we've seen before but well executed.