Odd List Simon Brew Ryan Lambie 26 Sep 2013 - 07:09
The year 1991 is the focus for our latest underappreciated films list, which includes dramas, thrillers, and a smattering of horror...
Ah, 1991. The year Robert Patrick ran after cars in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and Kevin Costner grew a spectacular mullet for Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. But outside the top ten blockbuster list, there lies an entire world of other, less celebrated films to discover.
Some of the movies on this list have been included because they were overlooked in theatres, while others have been added because they were unfairly dismissed by critics. One or two others were modest successes, but (whisper it) we decided to include them anyway because we really, really like them.
So here, for your delectation, is our pick of 25 underappreciated films from 1991.
25. Deceived
You think Goldie Hawn, you tend to think comedy, or her Oscar-nominated turn in Private Benjamin.
The year 1991 is the focus for our latest underappreciated films list, which includes dramas, thrillers, and a smattering of horror...
Ah, 1991. The year Robert Patrick ran after cars in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and Kevin Costner grew a spectacular mullet for Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. But outside the top ten blockbuster list, there lies an entire world of other, less celebrated films to discover.
Some of the movies on this list have been included because they were overlooked in theatres, while others have been added because they were unfairly dismissed by critics. One or two others were modest successes, but (whisper it) we decided to include them anyway because we really, really like them.
So here, for your delectation, is our pick of 25 underappreciated films from 1991.
25. Deceived
You think Goldie Hawn, you tend to think comedy, or her Oscar-nominated turn in Private Benjamin.
- 9/25/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
As an Irish tall tale, ''Hear My Song'' cheerfully embraces coincidences and strokes of good fortune. These are its storytelling tools, a means of reconciling a romantic instinct with a deep belief in the workings of fate.
At times sentimentality threatens to overwhelm the tale. If ''Hear My Song'' does emerge triumphant in the final scene, it probably has something to do with the unabashed earnestness of its players.
Miramax has a potential art-house hit here.
But it may be stretching Irish luck by launching a campaign for a supporting-actor nomination for Ned Beatty. His is a pleasant performance, but he has given far better in his career.
The film's co-writer, Adrian Dunbar, plays an innocent rascal named Micky O'Neill. He operates an aging Liverpool night spot, where he books acts like Franc Cinatra. He seems genuinely surprised that anyone might think this unethical. Can't people spell?
His latest booking is ''Mr. X -- Is He or Isn't He?'' The He in question is Josef Locke (Ned Beatty), a world-famous Irish tenor who fled England in the 1950s over alleged income tax evasion.
The real-life Josef Locke cleared up his tax problem. But this fanciful tale imagines that he vanished into the Irish wilds for 25 years, long enough for an impostor (William Hootkins) to make a living billing himself as Mr. X while imitating Locke's famous voice.
Coincidently -- well, you were warned -- the mother of Micky's fiance (Tara Fitzgerald) had a brief but torrid affair with Locke before his hasty departure. When Mr. X exploits this long-dormant infatuation to bed the woman Shirley Anne Field), this turns out to be one area where he cannot imitate the real thing.
In the wake of Mr. X's unmasking, Micky's club is ruined and he becomes a social outcast. The only way for Micky to repair the damage is to return to his native Ireland and recruit the real tenor to sing at his club.
Cinematographer Sue Gibson presents director/co-writer Peter Chelsom with cheery landscapes for his comic tale. There's a buoyancy to even the dreariest urban locale and a magical glow to the Irish countryside.
But Chelsom develops an odd habit of overemphasizing the trivial while rushing past his biggest scenes. An enormous amount of time and forced humor is spent on sequences involving an Irish cow. Yet he virtually tosses away the emotional reunion of the two aging lovers.
The acting is lovely. Sporting a moustache that makes him look slightly like Jackie Gleason, Beatty catches the cunning and boisterousness of the reclusive tenor.
Dunbar's charm and moxie carry the movie. But he's greatly aided by the troubled beauties, Field and Fitzgerald; Hootkins' surprisingly sagacious Mr. X; James Nesbitt as Micky's old mate back home; and David McCallum as the Liverpool police chief determined to nail Locke.
HEAR MY SONG
Miramax
Producer Alison Owen
Director Peter Chelsom
Writers Peter Chelsom, Adrian Dunbar
Story Peter Chelsom
Executive producers Simon Fields, Russ Russell, John Paul Chapple
Director of photography Sue Gibson
Production designer Caroline Hanania
Music John Altman
Editor Martin Walsh
Costume designer Lindy Hemming
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Micky O'Neill Adrian Dunbar
Josef Locke Ned Beatty
Cathleen Doyle Shirley Anne Field
Nancy Doyle Tara Fitzgerald
Mr. X William Hootkins
Jim Abbott David McCallum
Fintan O'Donnell James Nesbitt
Running time -- 114 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
At times sentimentality threatens to overwhelm the tale. If ''Hear My Song'' does emerge triumphant in the final scene, it probably has something to do with the unabashed earnestness of its players.
Miramax has a potential art-house hit here.
But it may be stretching Irish luck by launching a campaign for a supporting-actor nomination for Ned Beatty. His is a pleasant performance, but he has given far better in his career.
The film's co-writer, Adrian Dunbar, plays an innocent rascal named Micky O'Neill. He operates an aging Liverpool night spot, where he books acts like Franc Cinatra. He seems genuinely surprised that anyone might think this unethical. Can't people spell?
His latest booking is ''Mr. X -- Is He or Isn't He?'' The He in question is Josef Locke (Ned Beatty), a world-famous Irish tenor who fled England in the 1950s over alleged income tax evasion.
The real-life Josef Locke cleared up his tax problem. But this fanciful tale imagines that he vanished into the Irish wilds for 25 years, long enough for an impostor (William Hootkins) to make a living billing himself as Mr. X while imitating Locke's famous voice.
Coincidently -- well, you were warned -- the mother of Micky's fiance (Tara Fitzgerald) had a brief but torrid affair with Locke before his hasty departure. When Mr. X exploits this long-dormant infatuation to bed the woman Shirley Anne Field), this turns out to be one area where he cannot imitate the real thing.
In the wake of Mr. X's unmasking, Micky's club is ruined and he becomes a social outcast. The only way for Micky to repair the damage is to return to his native Ireland and recruit the real tenor to sing at his club.
Cinematographer Sue Gibson presents director/co-writer Peter Chelsom with cheery landscapes for his comic tale. There's a buoyancy to even the dreariest urban locale and a magical glow to the Irish countryside.
But Chelsom develops an odd habit of overemphasizing the trivial while rushing past his biggest scenes. An enormous amount of time and forced humor is spent on sequences involving an Irish cow. Yet he virtually tosses away the emotional reunion of the two aging lovers.
The acting is lovely. Sporting a moustache that makes him look slightly like Jackie Gleason, Beatty catches the cunning and boisterousness of the reclusive tenor.
Dunbar's charm and moxie carry the movie. But he's greatly aided by the troubled beauties, Field and Fitzgerald; Hootkins' surprisingly sagacious Mr. X; James Nesbitt as Micky's old mate back home; and David McCallum as the Liverpool police chief determined to nail Locke.
HEAR MY SONG
Miramax
Producer Alison Owen
Director Peter Chelsom
Writers Peter Chelsom, Adrian Dunbar
Story Peter Chelsom
Executive producers Simon Fields, Russ Russell, John Paul Chapple
Director of photography Sue Gibson
Production designer Caroline Hanania
Music John Altman
Editor Martin Walsh
Costume designer Lindy Hemming
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Micky O'Neill Adrian Dunbar
Josef Locke Ned Beatty
Cathleen Doyle Shirley Anne Field
Nancy Doyle Tara Fitzgerald
Mr. X William Hootkins
Jim Abbott David McCallum
Fintan O'Donnell James Nesbitt
Running time -- 114 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 11/19/1991
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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