Evelyn may be based on a true and historically significant story, but the filmmakers have made every effort to disguise it as an unimaginative screenwriter's invention.
Evelyn (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:106
Fresh:69
Rotten:37
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: Though predictable and sometimes overly sentimental, Evelyn still manages to be heartwarming.
Theatrical Release:Dec 13, 2002 Limited
Box Office: $1,341,151
Synopsis: Pierce Brosnan stars as Desmond Doyle, an Irishman whose troubles mount after his philandering wife runs away with another man. As a single, unemployed father with a penchant for Dublin's pubs,... Pierce Brosnan stars as Desmond Doyle, an Irishman whose troubles mount after his philandering wife runs away with another man. As a single, unemployed father with a penchant for Dublin's pubs, Doyle is deemed an unfit parent, and his daughter and two younger sons are placed in orphanages. Despite his problems, Doyle is an utterly devoted dad and decides to fight for custody of his children and his right to raise them alone. Doyle's crack pro bono legal team--played by Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn, and Alan Bates--takes his case all the way to the Irish Supreme Court in 1953, challenging the church and courts. Typically dapper Brosnan is exceedingly likable as down-on-his-luck Doyle, a common man who becomes a real-life hero, in this period piece. Sophie Vavasseur is a scene-stealer as Evelyn, Doyle's oldest child and the film's namesake, and Julianna Margulies adopts a believable accent as the barmaid who inspires Doyle to clean up his act if he wants his family back. Based on the true story of a court decision that changed the lives of many Irish families, EVELYN is directed by Bruce Beresford (TENDER MERCIES, DRIVING MISS DAISY). [More]
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Aidan Quinn, Julianna Margulies, Stephen Rea
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Aidan Quinn, Julianna Margulies, Stephen Rea, John Lynch, Sophie Vavasseur, Alan Bates
Director: Bruce Beresford
Director: Bruce Beresford
Screenwriter: Paul Pender
Producer: Pierce Brosnan, Beau St. Clair, Michael Ohoven
Composer: Stephen Endelman
Studio: MGM/UA
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Reviews for Evelyn
Your head may want to resist Evelyn, but your heart will have a hard time of it.
She is cute and she is good and in the end she loves her Guinness-breathed daddy and that’s all that really matters anyway, isn’t it?
With its personal feel, its more-than-capable cast and its rousing courtroom finale, it's the sort of picture that makes 'old-fashioned' a good thing.
This is Brosnan's film to own (but for the welcome screen time of the too-little-seen Alan Bates), and own it he does.
As saccharine movies go, this is likely to cause massive cardiac arrest if taken in large doses.
There's real inspiration to be found in this warmly told David and Goliath story, and 'tis a fine time to revel in that.
Evelyn is working so hard to be inspiring that the actors start wearing halos before they've even earned them.
Told with the frank simplicity of a classic well-made picture, it tells its story, nothing more, nothing less, with no fancy stuff.
If the real-life story is genuinely inspirational, the movie stirs us as well.
A little manipulative but generally satisfying story worthy of commemoration.
Evelyn has little to do with real life. For a more realistic true story, try this: Clueless moviemakers sucker innocent moviegoers into paying nine bucks for a stupid movie.
It's that rare family movie -- genuine and sweet without relying on animation or dumb humor.
...could very well prove to be Brosnan's 'The Sand Pebbles', a standout dramatic performance from an action star looking to be taken seriously.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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