ICC Film Club – Lamb

“LAMB”

Directed By Colin Greg:

Screenplay by Bernard McLaverty, adapted from his novel:

Starring Liam Neeson, Hugh O’Conor, Ian Bannen, Ian McElhinney and Frances Tomelty.

110 mins, Ireland: 1985

Brother Sabastian, (Liam Neeson), is an idealistic young Brother in a west of Ireland reformatory, ill at ease with the brutal regime under which the young inmates live. The recent death of his father and his growing anger at the mistreatment of one of the boys, Owen Kane, (played by Hugh O’Conor), prompts him to take dramatic action.

With this unconventional relationship between a naïve young cleric and a troubled child at it’s core, the film is vivid and unsettling – and unlikely to have been made at a later stage when scandals of clerical abuse were rife in Ireland – A sublime performance from Liam Neeson in his first lead film role and a remarkable debut for Hugh O’Conor (four years before his Oscar nomination for My Left Foot).

(Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn at The Irish Film Institute Dublin.)

Thus screening will be followed by a discussion about the film, led by the ICC’s Film Club Curator and Film Reviewer Steve Martin.

What People say  about “LAMB”

Adapted from the novel by Bernard MacLaverty, this sublime, heart-wrenching  film very movingly achieves many of those things which are often so difficult in cinema. A portrait of goodness and a multi-faceted view of the human character. C, Pea.  Time Out.

Neeson’s reinvention as an unstoppable action hero seems a world away from his sensitive portrayal of his character in LAMB; the film’s sympathetic depiction of a clearly problematic relationship may seem very much of its time, for today’s audiences but it now apears true that the story of Lamb was way ahead of its time. Lamb is a thought-provoking, adeptly played and occasionally disturbing adaptation of Bernard MacLaverty’s acclaimed novel. BFI

“This is a must watch film for any Liam Neeson fans and the acting is absolutely brilliant from start to finish. I would recommend this film to anyone”… Amazon Reviewer.

This is a unique and beautiful film. It will grab your heart-strings and won’t let go. Both Liam Neeson and Hugh O’Connor put in great performances and considering the age of young Hugh O’Conor he is pretty amazing in the role of Owen. IMDb Reviewer.