Absolutely amazing

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

It's 1953 Dublin, Ireland. Desmond Doyle (Pierce Brosnan)'s wife runs away with another man abandoning their three kids. He is unemployed and his mother-in-law reports him to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The court takes Evelyn, Dermot and Maurice away to Catholic orphanages. Barmaid Bernadette Beattie (Julianna Margulies) sends him to her lawyer brother Michael (Stephen Rea). Evelyn gets hit by brutal Sister Brigid. Desmond cleans up his act and starts working. However, he's now required to get the consent of his wife. Nick Barron (Aidan Quinn) is Bernadette's American suitor.It's an interesting story done with straight forward sentimentality. Little Evelyn is probably the most compelling character but this is more Pierce Brosnan's movie. At times, the movie gets stale with the David and Goliath legal battle. There is nothing surprising or terribly original in that. Sophie Vavasseur really wins in this movie but it just means that the movie misses her when it goes away from her. Desmond is not necessarily that sympathetic. He's a drunk and I get the sense that his story is whitewashed a bit.

Desmond Doyle is far from broken; He is out of job and his pockets are more than empty, his wife has left him for another man, and the worst is yet to come; when government takes his three children due to his unstable status. he does anything and everything in his power in order to master the situation and get his children back. the real challenges are laying ahead...Although I'm moved by well orchestrated story, and superb acts (particularly Brosnan in a very different, yet challenging role), HOWEVER it was very annoying to watch the ironic paradox of blindness of nomadic catholic church system, along with the spirituality that reigned over the whole story, at the same time. I'm even having difficulty putting this movie in the "Courtroom Drama" shelf, since although there's talk about legal matters in general, however the law in this movie starts and ends with God, the opposite side of the Doyle are his/her! servants, and almost every major defense is religious based as well. and finally I believe that is the very story of our lives; while most of human-being's problems through times are caused by irrational man-made blind acts of religion, however! it is the very same thing that people are seeking help from, while running away from those problems... I'm wondering which one would meltdown sooner; the whole Arctic Ice, or organized religion's Ice mountain, which by the way has been hold back the human-ship for a long time.

This is the true story of a father who battled some unfair Irish child custody laws about 50 years ago. He puts his kids in an orphanage, and then cannot get them back. He suffers from a prejudice that only mothers can raise kids.I liked this movie because I identified with the father. To my surprise, my kids love this movie also. They've watched it about 10 times. This is partly because they've been the victims of a court-ordered custody change. But also, my daughters find the Evelyn Doyle character inspiring. She is calm and courageous and sensible in the face of a wrong system.

In this film, Pierce Brosnan who I'll always remember as James Bond, stars as a dad who's determined to get his kids back before Christmas. This is a wonderful story everyone can enjoy, a few spoilers ahead, Desmond Doyle doesn't have enough money to support his family, and it gets worse, his wife has abandoned them, and there's no one left to care for his children, and the Church and Irish court has ordered that they be brought to orphanages, but Doyle still wants them back, and his daughter Evelyn gets abused by one of the nuns, and then a trial starts for him to get them back after an Irish-American decides to be his lawyer, and it is a close one, but he won't give up till he gets them back. This film really touched me, and caught the attention of many more, and changed a nation. I liked especially the part when the girl describes the truth of what the sister did to her, contrary to what she said about helping her, it was cool to rip the mascara off of her! And I like the part when Desmond describes what the Catholic family is based on, the Holy Trinity. Recommended for everyone, for the entire family. Well done Mr. Bond!