White Irish Drinkers

White Irish Drinkers is a film that is slowly finding its following. This little film that could, can and will, is worth tracking down in a nearby town and taking the time to enjoy. This film that was written and directed by John Gray, the creator of the television show, "Ghost Whisperer" was a labor of love and obviously very close to Mr Gray's heart. The importance of this project to Mr Gray and everyone involved in the production is evident in every frame of the movie.

The movie takes place in early autumn of 1975 in Brooklyn where two brothers Bryan Leary (Nick Thurston) and his older brother Danny (Geoff Wigdor) spend their days killing time and pulling off small time crimes. It is obvious from the beginning of the movie that Bryan wants nothing to do with the criminal side of life, even though its a fate the Leary brothers seem to be destined for. Trapped within the walls of Brooklyn and the home of an abusive, alcoholic father Paddy (Stephen Lang) and their tired, weary mother  (Karen Allen), the brothers can't imagine that there's a life outside of the one they're stuck in. Bryan knows that he isn't interested in the normal 9 to 5 Civil Service jobs that his group of friends are all dying to get. His friends have some hilarious exchanges about dying to get "benes" (benefits) and vacation time, retirement and a steady gig serving their community. The only thing Bryan can seem to find solace in is art. He is a secretly, talented painter. He spends his nights in the basement storage room of the deli below their apartment with his headphones on to drown out the beating his abusive father is giving his dutiful mother right upstairs as he draws.

Bryan doesn't share his artistic talents with anyone. His mother doesn't even know that he has them. Danny does, but he looks at it as a pansy way to pass the time. One night, while out at the bar, Bryan runs into Shauna Friel (Leslie Murphy) an old high school crush. In order to one up his college buddy, Todd (Zachary Booth) who swoops in to put the moves on Shauna, he comes up with a creative way to get Shauna's attention. Which I won't ruin for you, because its a lovely scene and sets in motion a wonderful little dance of romance between Bryan and Shauna. I will say that I was impressed with the way that Bryan left the scene, as it was quite unexpected, but definitely peaked all of the ladies in the theatres interest as well as Shauna's. You'll understand what I mean when you see it.

It's Bryan's relationship with Shauna that ignites his dreams and inspires him to think beyond the walls of Brooklyn. But it will be his relationship with his brother that tests his loyalty to his family and how far he is willing to go to rescue Danny. The brothers have spent their whole lives taking care of one another and looking out for each other, even if it does explode into fist fights every now and then. They are still brothers and there's nothing they won't do for one another.  I won't tell you anymore of the plot, wanting you to be able to go on the ride that I and every person in the theatre seemed to go on!

It's the kind of story that you feel and know will touch a lot of people. It's a movie reminiscent of "The Town" and while Boston has become the typical back drop for these movies, Brooklyn steps forward as its equally interesting cousin. The city is the perfect setting to tell this story. The cinematography of Seamus Tierney is stunning and so perfectly executed. The script is clever and witty at times, full of hope and love at other times and full of emotion and heartbreaking circumstance at others. The story is a familiar one, but still managed to surprise me and catch me off guard!

The acting is impeccable, a tour de force of artists, that as a fellow actor, I will one day be honored if I can come even remotely close to the commitment and layered performances that every single one of them turned in. Russell Boast, the casting director clearly took his time to find not only talented, real, actors, but ones who would gel together and could realistically be friends, family and lovers in real life.  Stephen Lang's performance of the father is terrifying and heartbreaking as you realize that this is a man who desperately loves his family, but who is just trapped within alcoholism and repeating the patterns of his upbringing. Karen Allen turns in one of the best performances of her life. As the mother, Margaret she fully inhabits this woman with every breath and movement, struggling to keep her sons safe, yet remaining unflinchingly devoted to her husband.

Nick Thurston as Bryan Leary is flawless, a newcomer to Hollywood, he will have a long career if he continues to turn in simple, connected, yet vulnerable performances like this one. His scenes with Leslie Murphy, who is flawless as well as love interest Shauna, are some of the best of the movie. The two share a chemistry on screen that in my personal opinion rivals that of Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling in The Notebook, which I regard as some of the best on screen chemistry that I've ever seen. You desperately want Shauna and Bryan to save one another, fall in love and escape this dreary dark life. Turning in a layered performance, Leslie, lets Bryan and the audience into her heart and she wins him and the entire theatre over by her second or third scene in the movie. Her character easily could have been a "pollyanna" of sorts, but John Gray shines again, having written a script that has multi-layered characters throughout the whole thing, not just within the main characters, but down to the smaller roles. My favorite example of this is the revelation that Shauna shares about herself with Bryan at the end of the movie, where you finally understand her.  Miss Murphy can look forward to a shining career in the acting world!

Geoff Wigdor as older brother Danny turns in an equally solid performance full of emotion, strength and vulnerability. He kept reminding me of a young Ben Affleck, even looking and sounding like him at times, though he turns in a full, well rounded performance that we didn't see out of Mr Affleck until he matured into his career a bit. Geoff brought life to Danny and you understood every decision he made even as your heart was screaming for him to make a different choice.

Zachary Booth, Robbie Collier Sublett and Michael Drayer round out the casting as Bryan's group of friends. They are all incredibly enjoyable and I especially enjoyed the rhythm they all found as friends and the rapid fire dialogues they shared that only true friends would be able to exchange.

The direction was wonderful and again, the script was well rounded, fun, raw, tough, emotional, and even contained a few fun "sign of the times" jokes like, "What kind of career are you going to have in computers?" Ha.

Producers Paul Bernard and James Scura, your investment in this movie is also evident in every part of it, and after meeting you Paul, I know that had you not been involved that this would be an entirely different movie. I can only imagine that your producing partner would be cut from the same cloth.

Please, do yourself and everyone involved with this project a favor and go see, "WHITE IRISH DRINKERS" when it comes to a theatre near you. Help this little movie that could, can and probably will reach the highest level of success that it can. I would even go so far as to say that this film and the actors involved could easily win some awards in this coming awards season! I desperately hope it hangs on for that long and that word of mouth makes this movie a blockbuster success!

Movies like this are the reason I became an actor. They are the reason that I want to make films. When the lights came up after the movie and we all wiped away our tears, I left the theatre thinking "This is the kind of movie I want to make."

This is a project of heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears . . . but you can tell it was worth every moment.

www.whiteirishdrinkersthemovie.com

* An Inspirational Letter from Sendai, Japan *

* An Inspirational Letter from Sendai, Japan *

Over the last couple of weeks we have watched the events unfold in Japan as they were rocked by an 8.9 earthquake, followed by a massive tsunami that caused massive destruction and took many lives. Horrified, we all have watched helplessly as the images of massive amounts of water decimated entire towns in a matter of minutes. The news is fraught with fear and panic, replaying the horrific images over and over again. There is nothing we can do but helplessly watch as the powers of Mother Nature cause death and destruction so many miles away. That is why when I was forwarded this letter from a person actually living in Sendai, experiencing this, I was so incredibly moved and touched by how they were experiencing what we can perceive as only a horrific event. I knew that it needed to be shared with as many people that we can get it to. Their words are full of love, hope, encouragement and a higher connection to a knowingness that everything that is happening is part of a greater plan. I hope you take the time to read this letter and that it provides you with as much inspiration, love and gratitude that it did for me.

IN LOVE and LIGHT, 
Elizabeth

Hello My Lovely Family and Friends,

First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am 

very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. 

But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.

Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to

have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even

more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share

supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in 

one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and 

beautiful.

During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People 

sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line 

up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water 

running in their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up 

their jugs and buckets.

Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in

lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an

earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be 

in the old days when everyone helped one another."

Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens

are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.

We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for

half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on.

But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not.

No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much

more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of

non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of 

caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the 

entire group.

There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some

places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun.

People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking

their dogs. All happening at the same time.

Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No

cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered

with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled.

The mountains of Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them

silhouetted against the sky magnificently.

And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to

check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on,

and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from

whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking

to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they

need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic,

no.

They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for 

another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, 

shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is

a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is

better off than others. Last night my friend's husband came in from the

country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.

Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed

an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world

right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now

in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I

felt so small because of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as

part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of

birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.

Thank you again for your care and Love of me,

With Love in return, to you all.