1990, Ireland, 107 min.
After a life of constant, thankless labor, aged farmer “Bull” McCabe (Richard Harris) gets a break. The gorgeous, verdant tract his family has toiled on in Western Ireland for generations is for sale. The townsfolk are happy to step aside for the respected elder, who is stern and stoic. But his plan is derailed when a debonair, deep-pocketed American (Tom Berenger) arrives with plans to pave over Bull’s land and modernize the countryside. McCabe grows increasingly fevered in his fight for the land, which he believes will heal his emotionally fractured family. Jim Sheridan’s melodrama captures the battle between tradition and progress when neither side is right, and it is fueled by Harris’ Oscar-nominated performance. He is unforgettable, portraying a perpetually disappointed man fighting his pride and mortality. Based on John B. Keane’s play.
