Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

debu-2 Truly hilarious, although this is meant to be a serious drama. I shun Albert Finney for taking such a part and Vicki Smurfitt is as usual her ugly, wooden self. There is no time suggested as to when the movie is meant to be set, its not the nineties or eighties more like the fifties but in that case why are people driving nineties car models? And since when did people in the border area of Ireland go to watch birds fighting?? Mostlikely you will find them shopping or surfing the net. This movie should have never been made, written or even considered. Badly acted the aforementioned Vicki Smufitt is like Keanu Reeves only not a pretty. Sad but true

aimless-46 There is no need to warn people away from "The Run of the Country" because at this point you are not exactly deluged with viewing opportunities. That said there is little reason to track down this film unless you yearn for some nice Irish scenery (including a fair red-haired Irish lass-Victoria Smurfit of "Berkeley Square" fame).Although directed by Peter Yates, do not expect anything on the level of his "Breaking Away" masterpiece. Shane Connaughton adapted his own novel about characters living near the "artificial" border between the two Irelands. His characters are all contradictions. Teenage Danny (Matt Keeslar) is cold and reserved but given to moments of extreme impulse and passion. His father (Albert Finney) fluctuates between a wise caring philosopher and a nasty frustrated bully. His wild friend Prunty (Anthony Brophy) is a fun-loving free spirit who is secretly a very active member of the IRA. His red-haired Irish girl is the product of a mixed (Catholic-Protestant) marriage and fluctuates between a mature self-possessed young woman and a weak little girl who inexplicably fails to do and say very obvious things that would improve the situation. These contradictions might be effective allegorical elements in the novel but do not translate to believable characters in the context of a film, where there is not adequate time to explore their motivations and complexities.The production is technically solid and the supporting cast is excellent. Brophy is the best of the leads and Keeslar is worst. If there was a box office reason for casting a handsome American actor as Danny (who was not a pretty boy in the novel), it did not serve them well and it totally alters the basic charm of the core romance.The scenery is nice, David Kelly (the Irish builder O'Reilly in "Fawlty Towers) is excellent as the local priest, Carole Nimmons is very entertaining as Mrs. Prunty, and there are some funny lines. The weakest parts of the film are the closing scenes, which are soap opera melodrama. Up to this point the film has maintained a generally realistic tone and the resolution comes across as contrived and unlikely (insert disappointing here).

Charles Watson "The Run of the Country" fulfills the early-to-mid-20th Century rural mannerism of class, character, and personal struggle after a series of dashed hopes during a passage of life. Disney's old hero worship lingers well in this flick, which in turns hits that image with reality. How a young man becomes a man happens in many ways and this film portrays the farm lad derivative. Boy lives a sad reality, boy thinks he has found solace from sad reality, sad reality returns the rebuff, boy returns to sad reality, and boy pursues new venture despite the sting of sad reality.I liked the mode and standing of the storyline to this film, reading like an old novel one would read from the archives or see in a soap opera drama/adventure. I watched the film like I would any paperback-novel-turned-film but when Victoria Smurfit popped up, I took better notice because I had the sensual hot spot for her since "Ballykissangel" when she replaced my previous interest Dervla Kerwin. The unsung natural beauty was the right filler for Annagh...and call me a pervert for this but to finally see Victoria Smurfit nude after imagining it from only two provocative scenes from "Ballykissangel" fulfilled an old dream, the fulfillment of which gave me reason to pursue viewing the rest of the movie. Much like "Little House on the Prairie" was in the 70's, this Irish variation of a "Little House" 2-part episode is specifically meant for those with the soft heart for country life and times, good and bad, with the specter of then-modern Ireland working into the fabric of the story.

clonion This film was made 5 miles away from where I live (when I'm at home in Ireland) and indeed some parts were filmed in my hometown. I have to say that it is a disappointment, and a slur on Albert Finney's good name. Apart from one or two hot spots, the border is probably the most peaceable part of N.I. Another thing about the film I disliked was that for large portions, the only thing to show that this wasn't set in the 50s was the gardà car. SPOILER ******** And I have never in my life heard of someone being tarred and feathered in this reason - it hasn't happened in the last 50 years at least. No one likes being portrayed as ignorant yokels, and thats all this film does.