Into the West is a 1992 Irish magical realist film about Irish Travellers written by Jim Sheridan and directed by Mike Newell, and stars Gabriel Byrne and Ellen Barkin. Into the West was one of several major films to come from Ireland during the 1990s, including the likes of My Left Foot, The Miracle, The Commitments, The Boxer, The Playboys, In the Name of the Father, War of the Buttons and The Crying Game. The film received several awards.
Plot
Into the West is a film about two young boys, Tito and Ossie, whose father "Papa" Reilly was "King of Irish Travellers" until his wife, Mary, died during the birth of their second son, Ossie. The boys' grandfather is an old story-telling Traveller, who regales the children with Irish folk-tales and legends. When he is followed by a beautiful white horse called Tír na nÓg, from the sea to Dublin, where the boys and their father have now settled down in a grim tower block in Ballymun, the boys are overwhelmed with joy and dreams of becoming cowboys. The horse is stolen from them and they begin their adventure to get their mystical horse back. They escape the poverty of a north Dublin council estate, and ride "Into the West" where they find that Tír na nÓg is not just a horse.
Cast
Gabriel Byrne as Papa Reilly
Ellen Barkin as Kathleen
Ciarán Fitzgerald as Ossie
Rúaidhrí Conroy as Tito
David Kelly as Grandfather
Johnny Murphy as Tracker
Colm Meaney as Barreller
John Kavanagh as Hartnett
Brendan Gleeson as Inspector Bolger
Jim Norton as Superintendent O'Mara
Anita Reeves as Mrs. Murphy
Ray McBride as Mr. Murphy
Dave Duffy as Morrissey
Stuart Dannell-Foran as Conor Murphy
Becca Hollinshead as Birdy Murphy
Production
The script was written by Jim Sheridan, who did not intend to write simply for children, although the film mainly follows two young children on the run with their beautiful, magical white horse. Other themes targeted to adults, are also present: grief, the clash of cultures with differing values, and the use of the police by the rich and powerful to enforce property rights in their favour. Sheridan wrote the script five years before he directed My Left Foot. Gabriel Byrne said it was one of the best scripts he ever read, and described it at the time as Jim Sheridan's best work to date. Byrne was committed to the work, he said; Apart from it being a story about Travellers, and the relationship between a father and his two sons, it really was in a way about Ireland. Ellen Barkin said that from the first reading she thought it an extraordinary piece of film writing. The movie's most memorable scenes, such as the horse in the cinema and the beans exploding, were shot in the small town of Portarlington in County Laois.
Reception
The film has received a mostly positive critical reception. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a score of 77% and holds an audience share of 79. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the "kids will probably love this movie, but adults will get a lot more out of it". Variety Staff said that "Into the West is a likable but modest pic", and that "a major asset throughout is Patrick Doyle's rich, Gaelic-flavoured scoring that carries the movie's emotional line and fairy tale atmosphere. Desson Howe of The Washington Post said that the film is "a charming children's crusade – a rewarding journey for all ages". Rita Kempley of the Washington Post said that "the movie is alternately grim and lyrical", and "though long on ambiance and short on story, it may appeal to the spiritually inclined – and to oater lovers.
