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Waking Ned
***
Cinema
Releases - March 19, 1999
Rated on a 4-star
scale. Ireland. Written and directed by Kirk Jones. Starring Ian Bannen,
David Kelly, Fionnula Flanagan, Susan Lynch, James Nesbitt, Maura O'Malley,
Robert Hickey, Brendan F. Dempsey, Dermot Kerrigan, Eileen Dromey, Jimmy
Keogh.
"Saturday evening, and the world is much the
same as at any other point in the history of the world. The planets and stars
orbit and spin, and do everything that is expected of them. On earth, as
the sun sets, millions prepare for an event that is much less predictable.
In 63 countries around the world, dozens of lottery machines spin hundreds
of lottery balls. It takes seconds for the winning numbers to be selected...
seconds for the losers to realise they've lost. But for the winners, it is
an event that will undoubtedly change their lives forever. Lucky
sods!"
This is the introduction of "Waking
Ned", and tells us, rather amusingly, what we already know -- people
go mad over the lottery. We see it every week, as people scramble for tickets
in the local shops, and as they furiously scrawl down the winning numbers
like junkies getting a phone number for free methadone. We were even shown
it in a brilliant 1994 film, "It Could Happen To You", which starred Bridget
Fonda and Nicolas Cage.
Kirk Jones's picture -- originally titled "Waking
Ned Devine" -- and greatly acclaimed in America and Cannes, is another work
that has fun with the Lotto craze. It takes place in the tiny Irish village
of Tullymore, the population of which is approximately 50 residents, and
where Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) deduces from clues in the local paper that
the weekend's jackpot has been won by one of them. Jackie, his wife Annie
(Fionnula Flanagan) and his best friend Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly)
soon discover that the person is retired fisherman Ned Devine (Jimmy Keogh),
who has dropped dead from the shock of the news.
The trio decide that because they want the money
-- and because Jackie believes Ned has spoken to him through dreams -- they
should do what they can to collect the deceased fellow's winnings, and split
this £7million between the townspeople. They devise an elaborate fraudulent
plan to fool the visiting Lotto representative that Michael is Ned, and to
make sure everyone in Tullymore co-operates.
This doesn't make a whole lot of sense -- when
buying a lottery ticket, you don't need to give your name, so to collect
Ned's winnings, nobody need pretend they're him. Still, "Waking Ned" is not
a film that depends on small plot points. It's about the sweet relationship
between Jackie and Michael, and the interaction between the villagers. Bannen,
Kelly and the rest of the cast give beautiful, faultless performances, and
having spent much time in rural Ireland during my formative years, I can
testify that this is one of cinema's most realistic portraits of it. It's
not a "Full Monty" or a "Local Hero", that goes over the top with the
eccentricities of a community, but a funny movie about generally normal
people.
The consequence of this, of course, is that "Waking
Ned" contains few real belly laughs. But the score and photography have both
presence and lightheartedness, and there are terrific witty lines, like "He
survived all those storms, only to be swept away by a few lottery balls..."
and "They say money changes a man -- there's no greater change than from
life into death!"
I can't really think of much else to say. This
isn't a great film, and I hated the way it turned nasty in dealing with its
villain. But it's worth seeing. Parts of it are truly moving, and one wildly
comic moment with Michael on a motorbike will not be soon
forgotten.
COPYRIGHT© 1999 Ian
Waldron-Mantgani
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