While not a bad film, it really isn't that great of a film either. It is well directed, well shot and well acted but it also is rather bland, with not much going on and no real arch within the story. It entertains to a certain degree but just barely does it do so and it ends up stretching on for almost two and a half hours. Thinking back though, I am racking my brain as to which scenes could be cut to make the film shorter.
The strongest aspect of Angela's Ashes is the acting. Both Robert Carlyle and Emily Watson or excellent in their roles with Watson being the stronger of the two. Watson is an amazing actress and seems to get better with every role she appears in. Carlyle fairs well too, although his character comes off as to nice and not enough of a boorish drunk to sell the story. The rest of the acting is top notch too, especially the child actors. Joe Breen plays the youngest incarnation of Frank McCourt. Not only is he great but he is pure 'Parker'. He looks, and for the most part is dressed, just like young Pink from Pink Floyd: The Wall.
Parker doesn't repeat himself with the movies he makes, but like Evita, there are many shots here that are strikingly similar to ones seen in Pink Floyd: The Wall. There are many shots with young Frank, playing in the streets that seem like outtakes from that film. But unlike that film, the cinematography here comes off at first striking but by the end of the film, rather bland. It looks good but there is only so many times we can see the same street corner or shot of a bridge in the rain before it gets boring. As well, the opening scenes in Brooklyn, New York are indistinguishable from the scenes in Ireland that take up the rest of the film.
The setting in Ireland is dirty and dingy and makes you undertand the conditions that McCourt and his family are living in. The costumes are pretty good too, showing the wear and tear of the clothing on the poor McCourt's backs. We see their clothes disintegrate before our eyes and we hope that things will get better for the family.
Unfortunately the story, for the film at least, is rather blase. Not much happens here I am afraid, at least not much of a story or much in originality. The entire film is basically watching Frank McCourt grow up poor. Okay, big deal, there are lots of poor people around so what makes his story so special. I'm sure his writing (in the book) is what creates the magic and won the Pulitzer but here it never goes anywhere. A few moments of humour, a few moments of sadness but overall there is a general feeling of complacency to the proceedings.
This isn't helped by the music which I found to be rather repetitive and tame. Scored by John Williams, I felt the film was missing high crescendos and soaring themes that could help elevate the story or bring the viewer deeper into the story. Rather you here the same piece of music (or few pieces of music) over and over or so it seems. It's a shame as usually Parker's choice of music is one thing that works really well in his films.
It's sad that such a great and revered book was turned into what is Alan Parker's worst film to date. It's not terribly boring, it passes the times and it is worth a watch, but only one. After all, we know that McCourt grows up to write the memoir and thus we have no worries that things will turn out fine for him. The film moves from humour to sadness to many times in to short a time to give the audience any kind of emotional pull and thus they are left with a somewhat enjoyable if overlong look into poor Irish folk. If you like Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle or Alan Parker, or you really have nothing else to watch then give this movie a shot otherwise there are plenty other films that you can wile away two and a half hours on.
In a word: Passable.
Film Rating: 69%
Breakdown (How Angela's Ashes scored 69%):
Production Design: 8 out of 10
Cinematography: 6 out of 10
Re-playability: 5 out of 10
Originality: 7 out of 10
Costumes: 8 out of 10
Directing: 7 out of 10
Editing: 7 out of 10
Acting: 9 out of 10
Music: 6 out of 10
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