Middletown: Empire Review (2006)

Reviewer: Helen OHara * * *

Plot
When he returns home to his Irish village, the recently ordained Gabriel finds that his new found religious zeal is not as compatible with family cohesion as he might have wished.

Empire Review
Matthew Macfadyen leaves Mr. Darcy far behind to play a repressed zealot in rural Ireland in the 1960s. Centring on the return home of the newly ordained Gabriel (Macfadyen), this drama pits fanaticism against family when the new minister tries to impose his own rigid morality on his father (McSorley), brother (Mays) and sister-in-law (Birthistle).

It’s interesting to see a film about religion in Ireland that doesn’t also feature terrorism or sectarianism, and Macfadyen injects depth as well as brimstone into his character. But while it’s beautifully shot in blues and greys, it feels a little too theatrical to ever quite fill the big screen.

Middletown Release

According to the UK film council the release date for Middletown in UK will be 31st January 2007.

"MIDDLETOWN (CERT: 15)
Distributed by VERVE PICTURES
Release date: January 31, 2007"

And the BBFC classified the video trailer on 27th November 2006.

"Video Trailer 27/11/2006 Verve Pictures Ltd 1m 38s No MIDDLETOWN"

No idea how that news bodes for an early DVD release but a short cinema release. Undecided

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