loading loading...

Evelyn Details

2002 DVD Certificate PG.gif
  • Rated:
  • 60
  • from 4501 members

Set in Dublin in 1953, Desmond Doyle is struggling to find steady work and is faced with raising his three children alone after his wife walks out on him. The Irish Church steps in and places the children in separate Catholic orphanages. Desmond works hard to pay off his debts in order for his children to come home. He finds .. Read more

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Julianna Margulies, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea
Director Bruce Beresford
Genres Drama

loading loading...

Evelyn

Set in Dublin in 1953, Desmond Doyle is struggling to find steady work and is faced with raising his three children alone after his wife walks out on him. The Irish Church steps in and places the children in separate Catholic orphanages. Desmond works hard to pay off his debts in order for his children to come home. He finds out that the children will not released without the permission of the absent mother...

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Julianna Margulies, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Alan Bates
Director Bruce Beresford
Studio PATHE DISTRIBUTION
Run time DVD: 1 hr 32 mins
Certificate DVD Certificate PG.gif
Genres Drama
Language English
Released DVD: 22 Sep 2003
Production year: 2002
Format DVD
  • Critics' reviews (3) of Evelyn

    View all
  • 3 stars out of 5

    Triumph-over-adversity stories don't come much more manipulative than in this syrupy, true-life drama set in 1950s Ireland. A warm, if contrived, account of paternal love, this movie sees Pierce Brosnan put 007 on hold to play Desmond Doyle, a charismatic single father struggling to bring up a trio of cutesy kids after his wife abandons them. Doyle is devastated when the authorities force his brood into care and what follows is a poignant, albeit predictable, courtroom battle to get them back. Endearing performances from Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn and, in particular, Alan Bates as Doyle's legal team add colour and weight to an essentially simplistic tale, and Brosnan's winning charm is in full effect. However, it's Sophie Vavasseur as Doyle's young daughter, the titular Evelyn, who steals the show. Her bright-eyed and earnest character is a cliché, yet she plays it so beautifully that all but the hardest hearts will melt.

    • Radio Times
  • 1 stars out of 4

    Based on a true story that brought an alteration to Irish law, this small-scale domestic drama is sweet enough to rot the teeth and is played for more than it's worth by its cast.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
  • Most helpful member's review of Evelyn

    View all
  • 19 out of 24 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 3 stars

    Very enjoyable

    Pierce Brosnan, Julianna Marqulies, Alan Bates, Aidan Quinn, the list goes on... They were all very good but the very best has to be Sophie Vavasseur as Evelyn. Not trained to act and the better for it.

    A true story... It left me wanting to know what happened next... I know it was Evelyn's story but did Doyle love Bernadette? Could they ever marry?

    Did they live happily ever after? Too may questions left unanswered for me.

      • sparkie from BRISTOL, ENGLAND
  • Most recent members' review of Evelyn

    View all
  • 3 out of 4 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Fatherhood

    I'm a father to 2 boys and a little girl myself whom I love to bits. If you watch this film you'll understand why a proud and loving man can shed a tear at what seemed to be such a farcical situation in bygone times in Ireland.

    You don't have to be a secret agent to be a good father!

      • FULBECK from Nottinghamshire
  • More like this

    View all

Rating breakdown

4,501 Member ratings
  • 100
428
  • 90
416
  • 80
669
  • 70
740
  • 60
854
  • 50
548
  • 40
333
  • 30
245
  • 20
181
  • 10
87

Related user collection

Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop


    • Evelyn
    • DVD: £4.93
      Free Delivery
    • RRP £17.79 (you save: 72%)
    • Set in Dublin in 1953, Desmond Doyle is struggling to find steady work and is faced with raising his three children alone after his wife walks out on him. The Irish Church steps in and places the ...