The Snapper

Director: Stephen Frears

Overview

Roddy Doyle adapted his novel for this comedy/drama about an independent young Irishwoman, unmarried and pregnant, who refuses to tell her family and friends the identity of her baby's father.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/17/2011
UPC:	0031398139171
Original Release:	1993
Source:	Miramax Lionsgate
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:35:00
Sales rank:	25,502

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tina Kellegher	Sharon Curley
Colm Meaney	Dessie Curley
Ruth McCabe	Kay Curley
Colm O'Byrne	Darren
Pat Laffan	George
Fionnuala Murphy	Jackie
Deirdre O'Brien	Mary
Karen Woodley	Yvonne
Eanna MacLiam	Craig
Ciara Duffy	Kimberley
Joanne Gerrard	Lisa
Peter Rowen	Sonny
Virginia Cole	Doris Burgess
Denis Menton	Pat Burgess
Brendan Gleeson	Lester
Stuart Dunne	Bertie
Ronan Wilmot	Paddy
Leo Davis	Actor
Dylan Tighe	Boy 1
Stanley Townsend	Anaesthetist
Joan Sheehy	Woman in Hospital
Rynagh O'Grady	Neighbour 1
Sheila Flitton	Neighbour 2
Cathleen Delaney	Oul'one
Jack Lynch	Policeman
Britta Smith	Woman in Police Station
Marie Conmee	Barrytown Neighbour
Jimmy Keogh	Barrytown Neighbour
Sandy	Famine

Technical Credits

Roddy Doyle

Leo Davis	Casting
Gerry Johnston	Special Effects
Lynda Myles	Producer
Mark Shivas	Executive Producer
Roddy Doyle	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Side #1 --
0. Chapter Selection
1. Opening Credits: I Don't Know... For Sure [6:03]
2. "Where's Your Bump?" [6:57]
3. Pints, Poles and a Snapper on the Way [5:58]
4. Keeping the Peace [4:17]
5. "A Great Little Ride" [7:04]
6. The State of Burgess [8:41]
7. "Are You Alright, Sharon?" [5:26]
8. A Sailor's Cap [6:59]
9. "Give Us a Name" [5:48]
10. Waiting for Gratitude [2:33]
11. "Leave It on the Step" [11:20]
12. Educating Dessie [3:59]
13. Taking It Easy [5:10]
14. "The Contraptions Have Started!" [4:01]
15. A Big Push [4:24]
16. "A Small Turkey" [3:44]
17. End Credits [2:02]

Menu

Side #1 --
Captions
English for the Hearing Impaired
None
Audio Commentary
Audio Commentary by Stephen Frears, Roddy Doyle, and Lynda Myles: On
Audio Commentary by Stephen Frears, Roddy Doyle, and Lynda Myles: Off
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Editorial Reviews

Roddy Doyle's book The Snapper ends with a very young single mother in the hospital looking at her new baby. The mother makes a noise. Another patient in the room asks her if she is crying. No, she replies, "I'm laughing." The film version perfectly captures the bittersweet tone of the book. Colm Meaney's patriarch embodies the film's attitude. He is full of contradictions: humble, but proud; the king of the house, but easily silenced by his wife and daughter; a complete failure as a financial provider, but a loving and emotionally giving father. The early scenes of the film establish the rapport of the Curley clan with an economy and clarity that communicates how close they are. The effect of Sharon's pregnancy on the family, Sharon's friends, and Dessie's friends are related in tightly written scenes that deliver a laugh and a tear, usually simultaneously. The filmmakers smartly wait to reveal the father of the child until halfway through the movie, and then only to the audience, not to the other characters. This leads to some beautifully shaped scenes loaded with dramatic irony during the last half of the film. This was the middle book in Doyle's Barrytown trilogy. Where The Commitments was more funny than sad, and The Van more sad than funny, The Snapper dared to combine the two in equal measure. A bittersweet slice of Irish life, The Snapper contains very human characters brought to life with beautifully nuanced performances, writing, and direction.