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White Irish Drinkers

Play trailer Poster for White Irish Drinkers R Released Mar 25, 2011 1h 49m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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47% Tomatometer 34 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A Brooklyn teen (Nick Thurston) sees art school as his ticket to a better life, while his older brother (Geoffrey Wigdor) believes that burglary is the way to finance their dreams.
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White Irish Drinkers

Critics Reviews

View All (34) Critics Reviews
Mick LaSalle San Francisco Chronicle A movie that one watches with the sense of pushing it up a hill. Rated: 2/4 Apr 21, 2011 Full Review Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News Despite the cliches that push every scene forward, there's an unexpected appeal to John Gray's modest drama, emanating from its center. Rated: 3/5 Mar 25, 2011 Full Review Amy Amatangelo Boston Herald Here's a 1970s-set film nostalgic for the days young Irish-American men addressed each other as "ya' hump." Rated: C Mar 25, 2011 Full Review Debbie Lynn Elias Behind The Lens An indie gem for 2011, and a frontrunner for a Spirit Award in February, John Gray is right on the money with his own pot of gold -- White Irish Drinkers. Nov 16, 2019 Full Review Mike Scott Times-Picayune A period drama that's as predictable and cliched as green beer on St. Patrick's Day. Rated: 2/4 Jun 3, 2011 Full Review Sarah Boslaugh Playback:stl The dialogue and action in White Irish Drinkers couldn't be more on the nose if the film was intended to be a parody. Sadly, Gray means for us to take it seriously. Rated: 3/10 May 5, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (128) audience reviews
Kyle J This movie is no DINER. The conflicts between characters seem forced. The romance doesn't ring true. You feel the writer seeking emotional reactions in us but not getting them. Even the concert audience's reaction is blown up out of proportion. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/02/24 Full Review Ted B 4.0 stars; Coming of age in the 70's Brooklyn.... It was like watching "Belfast" without the IRA. Life was so dark, seedy, vulgar, and gritty. Everyone was trying to find a way out, legally and illegally. The movie was the same way. It brought all of the downside to life visually.... and the writing (dialog) was great. It was very hard to watch. Yet in the end: Out of this world of ugliness, you were left with justice, beauty, and hope.... Given those production tools, the only thing that could mess it up would be the acting.... the Cast did not let us down. In total, a fine example in the ART of movie making. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Cliche but enough there to keep you watching Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member This isn't a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination, but personally I found that the story kind of drew me in. The story line has certainly been done before - an abusive father reeks havoc on his family, one son leads a life of crime, while the other son looks for redemption. As with most of these types of movies its really just the set that changes. White Irish Drinkers takes place in the 70's in Brooklyn and Brian and Danny are looking for away out of there family and the big city. Danny thinks he has a plan that involves theft and Brian's boss. The tables get turned when Brian's boss doesn't turn out to be the stand up guy everyone thinks he is. The movie looks at the relationships of the whole family, father, sons and mother and how those relationships affect other relationships. WID kept me watching, I found myself cheering for the success of both brothers - that they would be able to overcome the abuse that had surrounded them their whole lives. In a story like this that can be wishful thinking, but it ultimately means that the movie made me feel for its characters and I think that's a sign of decent art. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review walter m While Brian(Nick Thurston) does not mind accompanying his older brother Danny(Geoffrey Wigdor) on his jewlery robberies, he does draw the line at holding onto a gun for him. Otherwise, Brian uses art to distract himself from his abusive father(Stephen Lang) and his mother's(Karen Allen) idiosyncratic cooking and to meet women like Shauna(Leslie Murphy). For money, Brian works part-time at the moribund Lafayette Theatre where its owner Whitey(Peter Riegert) has just landed the Rolling Stones for a one hour concert which may yet save things. "White Irish Drinkers" is what we mean when we call a movie a mixed bag. On the one hand, you could occupy yourself by playing spot a cliche like brothers heading in opposite directions and incredibly prescient characters in a period piece.(However, one prediction turned out to be wrong since the movie was made.) In other ways, the movie takes full advantage of its time and place, like remembering old movie palaces in a time when New York City, not only Brooklyn, was going to the dogs, forcing many characters to choose between security and any dreams they might have.(What are the chances somebody would be reading the Daily News with the legendary cover, "Ford to NYC: Drop Dead?") To be honest, even if the movie had stopped after Brian's window painting, I would have recommended it, even without all the other cool moments. Plus, everything does neatly dovetail right at the end, rather unexpectedly. That's not to mention the fine work by the young cast, nor my eternal soft spot for Karen Allen. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member There's a decent script and a good movie at the heart of this film, but unfortunate for audiences neither were achieved or capitalized upon. We've all seen this story play out before, a kid from a rough neighborhood with a hidden talent that tries to get out but, his family and neighborhood keep pulling him down. This film boasted some decent performances by its ancillary characters, but was ultimately doomed by the stale, robotic and unconvincing effort put forth by its lead. Its overly familiar plot and poor lead were far too much for this Indie film to overcome -- 4.5/10. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
White Irish Drinkers

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A Brooklyn teen (Nick Thurston) sees art school as his ticket to a better life, while his older brother (Geoffrey Wigdor) believes that burglary is the way to finance their dreams.
Director
John Gray
Producer
Melissa Jo Peltier, Paul F. Bernard
Screenwriter
John Gray
Distributor
Screen Media Films
Production Co
Ovington Avenue, Bernard/Scura
Rating
R (Violence|Some Sexuality|Pervasive Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 25, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 12, 2011
Runtime
1h 49m
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