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The Run of the Country
MBM Rating:
HOT ALERT: Matthew Keeslar

Religion is a powerful force, and the penalties for premarital sex are terrible to contemplate.

This is Danny's (played by Matthew Keeslar) story -- how, coping with the recent death of his beloved mother, he struggles to find independence from an overbearing father. Part of this process is moving out of his childhood home and in with his friend, Prunty (Anthony Brophy), a cattle herder with a love of booze and a penchant for crude talk. Another part is falling in love.

The object of his affection is Annagh (Victoria Smurfit), a girl from just north of the border separating Catholic South Ireland from the Protestant North. Though it takes place in contemporary Ireland, the way in which people live -- many in ramshackle huts with little evidence of modern "conveniences" -- gives the story a timeless quality. Likewise, the characters would probably be equally at home in the nineteenth century as in the twentieth.

Danny and Annagh are both virgins well into their teens and Danny's father is opposed to any sort of contraceptive. Religion is a powerful force, and the penalties for premarital sex are terrible to contemplate. The best-crafted element of the film is the love story. Director Peter Yates brings real feeling and tenderness to the interactions between Danny and Annagh, from their first furtive glances at each other to Danny's faltering attempts to address her in conversation. Annagh is somewhat more world-wise than Danny, which makes it amusing to watch her nonplussed reactions to some of his unintentional double entendres -- phrases he innocently thinks have only one meaning.

The relationship between Danny and his father, although of equal importance to the romance, is less developed. Drawn with broad strokes, this conflict always seems more peripheral than central, which robs a cathartic scene of emotional power. Finney does all he can with the material, creating a mild character always on the brink of an emotional eruption, but Matthew Keeslar can't keep up with him. In fact, Keeslar, who is at times flat, isn't the equal of any of his co-stars. Both Victoria Smurfit and Anthony Brophy have impressive debuts. The script, adapted by Shane Connaughton (the writer of My Left Foot) from his own book, has a fair number of affecting sequences, and manages to deftly mix humor and serious issues. While the political situation and the possible involvement of the IRA are kept in the background, they are not ignored.

Part of growing up in Ireland, after all, is coming to grips with this volatile element of life. At one point, Prunty advises: "Have a dream ya can live for, lad, not one that'll put you in the grave." More crucial to the story, however, are the boundaries created by religion, education, and class. Every conflict in this film has its roots in one of these three causes. So, although The Run of the Country has its weak spots, it nevertheless gives us a more original coming-of-age story than that which typically graces American screens.

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