Dervla Kirwan

Dervla Kirwan

Dervla Kirwan Quick Links

News Pictures Video Film RSS

Interlude In Prague Review

Good

A fictionalised story from the life of Wolfgang Mozart, this lavishly produced period drama is enjoyable for its witty performances and sexy intrigue. It's never as sharp as the screenwriters clearly intended it to be, and its tone veers wildly in operatic fashion from cute comedy to lusty romance to very dark violence. But the actors are terrific, and the film catches a clever sense of both the history and the music.

It opens in 1786, as Prague's opera patron Baron Saloka (James Purefoy) begrudgingly agrees to provide the funds to bring Mozart (Aneurin Barnard) to town to conduct the final performance of The Marriage of Figaro. A rampant womaniser who doesn't want competition from the composer, Saloka currently has his eyes on virginal soprano Zuzanna (Morfydd Clark), who has just joined the cast. And he watches in a jealous rage as the married Mozart flirts shamelessly with her, egged on by his friend, the star diva Josefa (Samantha Barks). In response, Saloka arranges a marriage with Zuzanna's parents (Adrian Edmondson and Dervla Kerwin), who are so taken with the baron's wealth and social standing that they ignore the persistent rumours about his violent abuse of every woman he knows.

There's nothing remotely subtle about this film. Saloka's servants visibly quake in his presence, while every woman in town bats her eyelashes at the hot, charismatic Mozart. The dialogue shifts clunkily from witty banter to gloomy foreboding as the plot turns increasingly creepy and menacing. And Saloka's manipulative nastiness can't help but bring to mind Salieri in Milos Forman's 1984 masterpiece Amadeus. This film of course pales in comparison, although it's silly enough to keep us entertained. This is largely due to Barnard's fizzy, energetic performance, which is nicely balanced by the lively charms of both Barks and Clark, whose scenes with Barnard overflow with lusty glee. By contrast, Purefoy is a snarling villain who hates everyone and everything.

Continue reading: Interlude In Prague Review

Dervla Kirwan Friday 8th October 2010 Specsavers Thriller Awards held at Grovesnor Hotel London, England

Ondine Trailer


Watch the trailer for Ondine

Continue: Ondine Trailer

Pete's Meteor Review


Weak
Allegory? For sure. But there really is a meteor that belongs to Pete (Mike Myers in maybe his sole attempt at a dramatic role) in Pete's Meteor. That meteor in fact drives the bulk of the film's plot, an otherwise thin excuse for a story.

When the titular meteor (though it's the size of a footlocker it only leaves a 15-foot crate) lands in the backyard of a 12-year-old Irish laddie named Mickey, he presumes it was sent from heaven by his dead parents. Well, why not? Among his crazy grandmother (Brenda Fricker playing that matronly character once again), his unofficial godfather/drug addict/mob man pal Pete (Myers), and the wealthy scientist (Alfred Molina) who is given custody of the meteor by the government, Mickey's got a pretty messed up family life already. Parents speaking to him from beyond the grave sounds almost normal.

Continue reading: Pete's Meteor Review

Dervla Kirwan

Dervla Kirwan Quick Links

News Pictures Video Film RSS

Dervla Kirwan Movies

Interlude in Prague Movie Review

Interlude in Prague Movie Review

A fictionalised story from the life of Wolfgang Mozart, this lavishly produced period drama is...

Ondine Trailer

Ondine Trailer

Watch the trailer for OndineSyracuse is an Irish fisherman, he works long days and his...

Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews