Plot Summary
Sixteen-year-old Cole McKay's struggle for independence is put to the test as his South Boston Irish-Catholic family implodes around him. Older brother Terry is descending into a life of drugs and crime, pregnant sister Kathleen is being sent away to cover the shame of unwed motherhood and Cole's father, Desmond, spends his days in a fog of alcohol and self-pity, silently torturing himself over what might have been. The one thing keeping young Cole's head above water is his love of baseball. A talented pitcher, Cole overcomes self-doubt and family indifference to fight his way into the state championships. To get there however, he must make a life and death decision, a decision that will change the McKay family forever. The term "Black Irish" has also been used pejoratively to describe Irish people from hardscrabble roots: hard-drinking, brawling, of a lower class tracing back to the 19th century American sentiment "Irish Need Not Apply".
Credits
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
31%- Reviews Counted: 13
- Fresh: 4
- Rotten: 9
- Average Rating: 4.9/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Rotten: Black Irish boasts many memorable scenes and fine characterizations but ultimately plays more like a series of snapshots come to life than as an organically satisfying story.
Rotten: While the film has many well-observed moments...it ultimately suffers from its relentless piling on of crises.
Rotten: It's too sincere and thoughtful to be immediately dismissed. But it is terribly frustrating viewing: so much time and creative energy spent making a movie that, in one form or another, the audience has already seen.
Rotten: The blarney isn't the only thing that's thick in writer-director Brad Gann's Black Irish.
Customer Reviews
Black Irish
One of the best movies i have ever seen . Simple as that.
Great film!!!
This film gets back to the basics, it deals with real life problems, real struggles and the overcoming of the curve balls that life throws at us!!! The actors did a fantastic job!!!!! It is a movie that almost anyone can relate to!!!
amazing
One of the best movies I have seen in a long time.
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