Rating: 
Summary: A Must See for Fathers (and Mothers and, especially, Judges)
Review: Pierce Brosnan delivers a great performance in a serious role--a true story of Desmond Doyle, a man who changed Irish custody law. Doyle, whose wife left him with two small children, gave the children up temporarily (he thought) to the care of the Catholic church. He fought the Church and the state courts to the Irish Supreme Court to get his children back. Those who believe in a parent's constitutional right to be a parent to his children should buy this movie and watch it. It is a story of encouragement for fathers everywhere who are fighting for their children.Don Hubin
Rating:
Summary: A Must See for Fathers (and Mothers and, especially, Judges)
Review: Pierce Brosnan delivers a great performance in a serious role--a true story of Desmond Doyle, a man who changed Irish custody law. Doyle, whose wife left him with two small children, gave the children up temporarily (he thought) to the care of the Catholic church. He fought the Church and the state courts to the Irish Supreme Court to get his children back. Those who believe in a parent's constitutional right to be a parent to his children should buy this movie and watch it. It is a story of encouragement for fathers everywhere who are fighting for their children. Don Hubin
Rating: 
Summary: Bond's secret life before MI6?
Review: Pierce Brosnan has been so high-profile as the most current incarnation of James Bond that one is perhaps hard pressed to imagine, or remember, him in any other role. Only THE TAILOR OF PANAMA and the 1999 remake of THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR come to mind, and, in the former, Brosnan played a 007-type gone to seed. In EVELYN, Brosnan is Desmond Doyle, an alcoholic, chronically unemployed Irish carpenter whose wife splits to Australia with another man, probably an Englishman, leaving Doyle with three young children - two boys and a girl. Deeming Desmond an unfit father, the court orders the children into church institutions providing foster care for orphans and the children of broken homes. The film, ostensibly based on a true story, has Doyle going up against the Irish government and the Catholic Church to regain custody of his kids. Set in the early 1950s, this is thought an impossible task. The best part of EVELYN is seeing Brosnan not typecast in a role consistent with the other films previously mentioned. Pierce even sings - and quite passably too. Of the three children, the script focuses on daughter EVELYN (Sophie Vasseur), the apple of her father's eye. The boys are just extra props. Doyle is aided in his tilt against the windmill by his father and a trio of legal eagles, all out of Central Casting. And then there's the cruel nun, Sister Brigid (Andrea Irvine), emergent from the nightmares of parochial school kids everywhere. EVELYN is enjoyable enough, but oh so predictable. I mean, underdog Dad takes on two insensitive megalithic bureaucracies to rescue his absolutely adorable little girl AND win the love of a Good Woman (as opposed to his runaway wife, the Bad Woman). Is there anybody in the universe so obtuse that he couldn't predict the outcome of that match-up? The fact that the story is "based on" actual events leaves one wondering how much Hollywood simplified the tale to maximize the hankie factor. OK, so I'm cynical. Perhaps this is James Bond before he joined MI6. You think?
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring story of a father's love
Review: Pierce Brosnan plays an Irish father who is deserted by his wife. He has flaws, chief among them excessive drinking and the tendency to speak before he thinks, but the bottom line is that he is a loving and devoted father. Because of quirks in Irish law, his children are removed from him because there is no mother in the home and he is temporarily out of work. He tries to get the children back, but is unsuccessful until he meets some Irish lawyers who believe in his cause and agree to help him. This movie is based on a true story and it has a wide appeal because of the universal them of parental love overcoming all odds. This is highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A truly beautiful film
Review: Pierce Brosnan proves once and for all that he is not just eye candy, but a truly gifted actor. The film itself is flawless. Every performance is meticulously drawn out by Beresford's masterful directing. The story is factually based heart-wrenching saga of a father's love for his children and how he and a small band of legal warriors changed the child advocacy laws in Ireland. My biggest question is why there was no market for this wonderful film. I don't think it even appeared in my city. To go through the stellar performances one by one with a suitable comment might take too long.
Aiden Quinn, Julianna Margulies, Stephen Rea, John Lynch and the ever brilliant Alan Bates are all marvelous. Sophie Vavasseur as the precious EVELYN is a joy. I would never have heard of this film had I not watched a Brosnan interview. Great film making is so often passed over by glitzy Hollywood fare. The true art of film is found in beautiful quiet films like this one.
Rating: 
Summary: A tear-jerker with a happy ending
Review: Pierce Brosnan stars as a down on his luck Irish father whose wife leaves him and his children are taken out of his custody. The real star of this movie is the adorable little girl who plays the title role: she is the cutest thing in the world! This is a real tearjerker of a film, and Brosnan fans will also enjoy hearing James Bond sing a few times (he's actually pretty good!). The biggest gripe I've heard about this film is that it's not historically accurate, as it's supposed to be based on a true story, but I think you'll enjoy it anyway.
Rating:
Summary: Great father daughter movie!
Review: Pierce Brosnan wonderfully demonstrates his talent as an actor by portraying a character with depth in this 'chick flick.' The daughter, played by Sophie Vavasseur, manages to come across as a sweet religious girl without getting to the point of annoying. I recommend seeing this movie when in the mood for a predictable heartwarming story.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, heartwarming, and frighteningly true
Review: This is a wonderful little movie (although any movie directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Pierce Brosnan isn't that little). Other reviews have done a good job of encapsulating the plot, so I'll say that what impressed me most was the film's ability to capture a time and a mood. The script is excellent and the acting is good, but what continues to stun me is that this is a true story that happened less than fifty years ago in a supposedly civilized country. One reviewer wrote that the movie's outcome was inevitable--heroic father fights to take back his kids and wins in the face of overwhelming odds. The problem with that characterization is that this is a true story, and it was not inevitable. As the movie is at pains to state, the outcome was quite without precedent under Irish law. Only someone with a heart of iron could fail to be moved by this film. Throw away the Bond movies and buy this one.
Rating:
Summary: Perfectly charming family film.
Review: This is one of those rare films in which you will find a quality plot, good dialogue, and fine performances. Also I appreciate that it is such a clean movie that I can watch it with my mother without her being shocked or offended.
Rating:
Summary: Heartstrings & Clover
Review: This little jewel of a film is as potent as it has been unheralded. Australian Director Bruce Beresford who was nominated for a Best Director Oscar for "Tender Mercies" and has also done "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Double Jeopardy" does a marvelous job with the small independent feature. From the informative featurette on the DVD, he was instrumental in pruning screenwriter Paul Pender's screenplay and insisting on Pierce Brosnan's final courtroom speech. This film is one that touches your heartstrings. The theme of love a parent has for their children is universal and allows this to be a movie that is important to us. With the Irish setting and plot that centers on the Irish judicial system, it seems like heartstrings & clover. Pierce Brosnan was the moving force behind putting the picture together; and it is an admirable project. Brosnan turns in one of his best performances as the father who fights to get his children back. His voice cracks with emotion as he tells how much he loves them and that he wants to bring them up surrounded by love. It's not corny or overly sentimental; it's what makes the world go round! Sophie Vavasseur is wonderful as the title character Evelyn. She has the pureness and faith of a child's heart and nails the sweetness of the character. The scene where she watches her mother run off with another man is heartbreaking as the audience understands more than the child who watches with puzzlement. If there were more to wish for, additional time for the two boys to show their father's connection to them would have focused on the whole family. ER's Julianna Margulies does a nice job as the supportive Bernadette who tends bar. She refers Brosnan's Desmond Doyle character to her brother lawyer Michael Beattie played by Stephen Rea. Rea's subdued solicitor character leads Doyle to yet another lawyer, barrister Nick Barron played by Aidan Quinn. They get Thomas Connolly on the team played by Alan Bates, recently from "Gosford Park" and "The Mothman Prophecy." Bates passed away from cancer in December 2003, but is full of feisty spirit as he shepherds the case to Irish Supreme Court. As Charlotte Doyle, Mairead Devlin gives a brief but memorable performance as the restless wife. "Evelyn" was a small film, but it works wonderfully. It tugs at the heartstrings and is a great family film to help us recall how much our families mean in our lives. The shooting on the film started shortly after 9/11 and seems to draw inspiration from the time in which it was shot. The fact that this is based on a true story makes it poignant. This is essential viewing! Enjoy!
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