Watching this film, shown recently on a cable channel, and the reality of what is going on in Ireland at the present time, seems, in a way, a sort of metaphor for the boom the country experienced in the past two, or three decades. Sadly, what goes up so quickly has a tendency to come crashing down, as it is the case of the latest state of affairs, not only in Ireland, but in other countries as well.
Liam O'Leary is a successful entrepreneur that faces opposition to his latest project, a world class soccer stadium. Liam is living the kind of life of a new rich person. As we meet him, he is driving home stuck in one of those traffic jams so typical of big cities during rush hour. He must get home to change and go to a dinner where he is being given an award fro his achievements.
Home life is a mess. His wife, Jane, is bored with her husband, as well as with her life. The excesses have not given her the kind of life one feels she wanted. Connor, his teenager son, hates his father because he has given him the so many material things he is bored and has turned into liking communism, as a sort of protest against his self-made man.
Liam, who is edgy because of the turn of events in his financial world, one day discovers he is being follow by a man that looks just like him. That brings him to a visit to his aging mother to inquire about whether he was an adopted son. The revelation from his mother devastates Liam, who has been oblivious to some signs that would have given him a clue as to this part of his life.
John Boorman, the director, also wrote the screenplay. The film reunites him with Brendan Gleeson, a man that has done excellent work for the director. The film resonates because it shows the machinations behind a successful man that now has to pay dearly for what he built. He has wasted his life in the pursuit of wealth, not only for himself, but for his wife and son as well. Instead of the respect he feels he deserves he has to face a past he never knew, plus a man that is exactly a replica of himself, but with a somewhat criminal trait. Liam has ultimately to confront reality in order to move on, not before making peace at home.
Brendan Gleeson is the whole reason for watching "The Tiger's Tail". He is an actor who always delivers. He makes a tremendous impression in a double role which shows two sides of a personality. Kim Cattrall appears as Liam's wife, Jane, and Brian Gleeson, who is the lead man's own son, is seen as his son Connor. In the supporting cast, Sinead O'Connor shines. Ciaran Hands also graces the film with his valuable presence.
Liam O'Leary is a successful entrepreneur that faces opposition to his latest project, a world class soccer stadium. Liam is living the kind of life of a new rich person. As we meet him, he is driving home stuck in one of those traffic jams so typical of big cities during rush hour. He must get home to change and go to a dinner where he is being given an award fro his achievements.
Home life is a mess. His wife, Jane, is bored with her husband, as well as with her life. The excesses have not given her the kind of life one feels she wanted. Connor, his teenager son, hates his father because he has given him the so many material things he is bored and has turned into liking communism, as a sort of protest against his self-made man.
Liam, who is edgy because of the turn of events in his financial world, one day discovers he is being follow by a man that looks just like him. That brings him to a visit to his aging mother to inquire about whether he was an adopted son. The revelation from his mother devastates Liam, who has been oblivious to some signs that would have given him a clue as to this part of his life.
John Boorman, the director, also wrote the screenplay. The film reunites him with Brendan Gleeson, a man that has done excellent work for the director. The film resonates because it shows the machinations behind a successful man that now has to pay dearly for what he built. He has wasted his life in the pursuit of wealth, not only for himself, but for his wife and son as well. Instead of the respect he feels he deserves he has to face a past he never knew, plus a man that is exactly a replica of himself, but with a somewhat criminal trait. Liam has ultimately to confront reality in order to move on, not before making peace at home.
Brendan Gleeson is the whole reason for watching "The Tiger's Tail". He is an actor who always delivers. He makes a tremendous impression in a double role which shows two sides of a personality. Kim Cattrall appears as Liam's wife, Jane, and Brian Gleeson, who is the lead man's own son, is seen as his son Connor. In the supporting cast, Sinead O'Connor shines. Ciaran Hands also graces the film with his valuable presence.