The Actors

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title The Actors
Country of production Great Britain , Ireland , Germany
original language English
Publishing year 2003
length 91 minutes
Rod
Director Conor McPherson
script Conor McPherson,
Neil Jordan
production Neil Jordan,
Redmond Morris ,
Stephen Woolley
music Michael Nyman
camera Seamus McGarvey
cut Emer Reynolds
occupation

The Actors is a British - Irish - German comedy film directed by Conor McPherson from 2003. Michael Caine and Dylan Moran can be seen in the leading roles .

action

Nine-year-old Mary is writing an essay about her uncle Tom at school. As a previously less successful actor, Tom hopes for his big breakthrough, but even his audition for a sausage commercial goes wrong. In Dublin he is currently a supporting actor in a production of William Shakespeare's Richard III. The staging with allusions to the Third Reich , however, is so poor that hardly anyone wants to see it. Anthony O'Malley, who plays the lead and has already passed his prime as an actor, is hoping for better roles because he is in dire need of money. In order to be eligible for his role in Richard III. To prepare, O'Malley had tried to study gangster behavior in a harbor bar. He met the petty criminal Barreller, who told him that he owed a London gang of 50,000 pounds, but had never seen the gang. Disguised as a gangster, Tom O'Malley is supposed to help get the money. When Tom returns home and his house has burned down - he forgot to turn off the stove - he finds accommodation with his sister Rita and her husband Clive. Tom's precocious niece Mary is convinced of his acting talent and practices a role with him.

Tom finally accepts O'Malley's suggestion. He calls Barreller, poses as a gangster named Clive, and arranges to hand over the money with him. Disguised with glasses and a mustache, Tom meets Barreller the next day, who is accompanied by his daughter Dolores. They later go to a karaoke bar together, where Dolores persuades Tom to sing a song together. Tom almost forgets that he still has to go to his theater performance. He rushes to the theater with the suitcase and later gives O'Malley the money. From Dolores, who he gives acting lessons, O'Malley learns that the gangsters have reported to their father and are demanding the money. At Mary's suggestion, Tom disguises himself as a barreller and picks up Jock, the gangster who is supposed to pick up the money, at the airport. He describes "Clive" to him, who received the money, and then sends him into the pampas. Mary has now come up with a plan. Tom, increasingly feeling guilty about Barreller and Dolores, is supposed to fake Clive's death in order to cover up all traces and to save them and Barreller further inconvenience.

After O'Malley tells Dolores that Clive is his cousin and lives in the castle on an island, O'Malley and Tom rent the castle for a day and prepare for Clive's supposed death. Tom, who disguised himself as Clive again, picks up Dolores on the beach with a boat and takes her to the island. In the castle they come closer and kiss. At that moment, O'Malley operated a remote control that bursts the bags filled with fake blood on Tom's upper body, making it look as if Tom had been shot. Dolores tries to get help, but has no cell phone reception on the island and therefore takes the boat back to the mainland. Because she couldn't find Clive on her return and believes his body had been removed, Dolores cries herself in a bar at O'Malley. There she receives a call from Mary, who poses as a nurse and asks Dolores to visit Clive at the hospital. The next day, Dolores meets the supposed Clive in the hospital park. Dolores has now seen through that her theater is being played, and so she furiously beats Tom, who is in plaster, and leaves the park. Jock, who followed Dolores, wants to take Tom, aka Clive, to his boss - a woman named Magnani. However, Tom can escape him.

When Magnani wants to meet Barreller in person, O'Malley disguises himself as a woman and pretends to Barreller to be Magnani and to have finally received the money. The real Magnani introduces himself to O'Malley as Barreller's assistant and drives her and Jock to an apartment where he had hidden the money in a fireplace and is now handing it over to Magnani. When his wig catches fire, O'Malley throws it off and, in response to Magnani's question, admits that he is an actor and that Clive was played by one of his fellow actors. Dolores has meanwhile also disguised herself as Magnani and pretends to want to kill Tom in order to force him to finally tell her the truth. When she reveals herself to him, he confesses his love to her.

At the last performance of Richard III. Magnani and Jock are also in the audience. They then want to forcibly repay Tom for his games. Because Dolores is also in the audience, Tom is so excited with excitement during the performance that Magnani cannot imagine that it was he who was fooling everyone. So it is O'Malley, after all, whom Jock takes to his chest. Two weeks later, O'Malley receives - in a cast and in a wheelchair - for his performance in Richard III. a prize for best performer. During his acceptance speech, Barreller calls the guests present into an anteroom, where he proudly shows them his daughter on television - Dolores plays in the sausage commercial. Meanwhile, she has reconciled with Tom, whereupon Mary finished her school essay.

background

The Olympia Theater in Dublin, where the film was set

The shooting took place in Ireland . The filming locations included Talbot Place and the Olympia Theater in Dublin and Humewood Castle in Kiltegan, County Wicklow .

The film premiered in Ireland on April 17, 2003. On May 15, 2003 it ran out of competition at the Cannes International Film Festival . The film opened in British cinemas on May 16, 2003. Although The Actors was co-produced by the German Senator Film Production, the film has not yet been released in Germany.

Reviews

British film magazine Empire found The Actors "had the potential" to be "hilarious". But the film elicits "in the end just a tired smile". Peter Bradshaw said in the Guardian : "Not even the playful imagination of Michael Caines can save this shamefully bad comedy." The Movie Gazette again describes the film as an "above-average Brit comedy with a first-class, but under-challenged cast."

Awards

At the 2003 Irish Film and Television Awards, The Actors was nominated for Best Irish Film Audience Award. For the IFTA Award, the actual award of the presentation, the film was also nominated for Best Irish Film and in the categories of Best Editing and Best Screenplay.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ " The Actors had the potential to be gut-achingly funny. But instead it ends up raising a few paltry smiles. " Jo Berry: The Actors Review . In: Empire , 2003.
  2. ↑ "Not even a game performance from Michael Caine can save this shamingly bad comedy." Peter Bradshaw: The Actors . In: The Guardian , 2003.
  3. ↑ "An above-average Brit-comedy with a superb but largely under-used cast." Gary Panton: The Actors . In: Movie Gazette , May 17, 2003.