Movie Review for Angela's Ashes

Summary: In 1935, when it is more common for Irish families to leave their famine-stricken country for America, the impoverished McCourt family do the reverse. Following the sudden death of her 7-week-old daughter, Angela and her unemployable, alcoholic husband, Malachy Sr. set sail from New York Harbour to Cork with their four children- Frank, Malachy Jr. and twins Eugene and Oliver- to return to the land which mystified young Frank had only heard of as 'where there was no work and people were dying of starvation and the damp.'

                         Reviews of Angela's Ashes
By Cornell & Petricelli of CinemaSense.Com (7/0)
            The story lacks focused character conflict that would make it a truly fine cinematic experience.

By Karina Montgomery of Cinerina (7/0)
            I am pleased to announce that this film is a fine, a beautiful presentation of a painful story.

By Scott Von Doviak of culturevulture.net (7/0)
            The movie makes the odd and ultimately fatal mistake of leaving McCourt out of his own story.

By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (7/0)
            I'm not sorry I saw it, but I wouldn't see it again.

By Maitland McDonagh of Film Journal International (7/0)
            Beautifully acted.

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            Possesses an impeccable honesty and humanity that speaks to our hearts and our minds.

                         Reviews of Angela's Ashes
By Bruce Kirkland of Jam! Movies (7/0)
            There is something so compelling, so forceful and even so humourous about McCourt's life journey ...

By Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            Primitive peoples, or so it's said, resist being photographed, believing that the creation of an ...

By Mark Ramsey of MovieJuice! (7/0)
            Like a good potato, Angela's Ashes is heavy on the starch and light on the protein.

By Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews (7/0)
            And if misery per se were an interesting topic, this adaptation of Frank McCourt's book might b...

By J. Robert Parks of Phantom Tollbooth (7/0)
            Though the story and mood are dreary, the fundamental human traits of struggle and family shine b...

By James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk (7/0)
            a long, exhausting, almost completely humorless chronicle of misery, shame, and hardship

                         Reviews of Angela's Ashes
By Betty Jo Tucker of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (6/1)
            Like bread without yeast, 'Angela's Ashes' minus the author's wit can't rise to meet expectations...

By Jim Lane of Sacramento News & Review (7/0)
            Faithful to the letter of McCourt's book but miss the spirit entirely.

By Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com (7/0)
            The story of Frank McCourt's triumph makes it to the screen intact. It's the lyricism, the heartb...

By William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            All this misery crammed into 145 minutes makes for one rough sit.

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
            Misses the mark as an exceptional drama yet manages to vividly convey the soul-shattering effects...

By Amy Taubin of Village Voice (7/0)
            The film lacks development and dramatic coherence.

                         Reviews of Angela's Ashes
By Steven Boone of Citysearch (3/4) No reference
            The young actors playing Frank at various ages (Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens, Michael Legge) are all e...

By Steven Rosen of Denver Post (3/4) No reference
            Lacks the magnificence of his book, but it is worth seeing.

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (6/1) No reference
            Parker has gotten the dreariness of the material right, but he can't really give us a reason to c...

By Ted Murphy of Hollywood.com (3/4) No reference
            The filmmakers have managed to take an anecdotal work and shape it into a film with a particular ...

By Robert Koehler of IFilm (3/4) No reference
            The script by Parker and Laura Jones also borrows massive chunks of McCourt's narration, in voice...

By Glenn Whipp of Los Angeles Daily News (3/4) No reference
            While director Alan Parker manages to capture the book's abject poverty and misery, his rather su...

                         Reviews of Angela's Ashes
By Michael Elliott of Movie Parables (3/4) No reference
            It is a delicately crafted film which tells the story of a miserable childhood.

By Mac Verstandig of Moviereviews.org (3/4) No reference
            The two and a half hour duration goes at the rate of a Leslie Nielson death scene.

By Jay Stone of Ottawa Citizen (3/4) No reference
            A grim but fascinating tale.

By David Elliott of San Diego Union-Tribune (3/4) No reference
            Larded with folksy humor and patronizing empathy.

By Geoff Pevere of Toronto Star (3/4) No reference
            Visually immaculate but unaffecting.

By Desson Thomson of Washington Post (3/4) No reference
            Of course, the movie is a thinner version of the novel, but you still get a drama that has you la...

                         Reviews of Angela's Ashes
By Yazmin Ghonaim of Cinephiles (6/1) Not Reachable
            Careful avoidance of overly melodramatic performances in spite of the highly dramatic scenarios.

Movie Distributors
Paramount Pictures

Production Companies
Dirty Hands Productions
Manhattan Project
Universal Pictures International
Scott Rudin Productions
David Brown Productions

Movie Studios