This is How Movies Should Be Made

One of my all time favorites.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a strange film. It can be very amusing, but also very frightening. You don't have to take sides in the conflict in Ireland to appreciate that the people there have been living on the edge for some time.If you want Cheech or Chong then stay away. But if you want to feel uncomfortable, have a laugh, and perhaps feel just a little bit of empathy for your fellow human beings then this is a great film.Personally, I could do with less F*ing language, but it is important to consider the characters involved. In real life they just don't go around saying 'golly gosh' and 'darn'.Billy Connolly is a perfect choice for his role, and is an integral part of the film. A mad scotsman? Why? Because only the Irish have the strengh of character and mind to stay sane under the condition in which they have had to live. And even then .....Don't watch this film for the laughs. Don't watch it for the actors. Don't even watch it for the sake of Billy Connolly. Watch it to see that spark of humanity that we sometimes refer to as the soul.

This film was great for exactly what it was: a comedic drama with honest political/cultural commentary.Set during the 1980's in the British-controlled portion of Ireland, "An Everlasting Piece" is about a Catholic and a Protestant barber who set off to win a monopoly as hair-piece salesman in the north of Ireland.The style of comedy was what I would call "very British-like". It had that dry and witty sense of humor that is so terrific if you appreciate that sort of thing (just for the record, I'm usually a fan).As far as the cultural/political commentary goes, an earlier post pointed out that George's family is non-existent in this movie, and that the story revolves around an almost entirely Catholic cast. My response is that to include the Protestant side of the story would have been impossible. To include the loyalist populace (and thus the loyalist paramilitaries, since there would have to be a balancing cinematic force countering the story of the IRA) would have required probably another 3 hours. I think this movie is really about the Catholic-Catholic confrontation. You've an IRA man who says "I want more than to just survive," in an era of unequal rights and opportunities for Irish Catholics, just as it was for the African Americans 2 decades before the film takes place. Then you have a Catholic who believes in "the cause" (ideologically speaking), yet has a Protestant friend who is obviously not concerned with politics or consumed with partisan hatred. The political/cultural issue here is the fact that the ideal the IRA was fighting for in the '80's (at the time, equal rights through union with the Irish Republic)) was legitimate in many respects- yet at what expense? In the end the "film" is a movie- it is heart-warming entertainment that gives the viewer a general sense of one of the overall issues facing Ireland in the '80's, and it gives a lot of chuckles. It'll make you laugh, feel, and even make you think- so it's worth at least the rental price.

Very disappointing film, starts off slowly and slows down. Obviously Billy Connolly had some spare time - his contribution to this film is non existent. Any message it attempts to offer is far too simplistic and the ending involving many young soldiers balded by terror has no humour whatsoever (and yes I do have a sense of humour). The film chops and changes and seems to be many individual scenes strung together. The idea is a good one but we are never able to identify strongly enough with the lead characters to make this movie work, The religious divide is pushed to the front too much and could be done much more subtlely (sp?) and humourously. Conclusion: Give it a miss

I have to disagree with some of the other comments on this film. In my opinion it is one of the cleverest satires that I have seen but you have to concentrate on it and not expect it to be obviously realistic. It is very well written, acted and directed with an extremely clever ending. Reminiscent of the ability of Noel Coward or Oscar Wilde to depict human frailty in a comical light (but missing the blistering dialogue of the latter). The word "wry" comes to mind and its only faults are some slowness in building up to the ending and, while most of the characters are deliberately portrayed as rather childish and naive, some are a little overdone. In particular, Colm's definition of when an action is "a gesture" is absolutely superb satire. This film is wit, not comedy in the rather obvious sense which so often prevails these days. I would give it a "much better than average" rating for a discerning viewer who wants something better than what is mostly on offer.