The
lowdown: 'The Hanging Gale' is a four-part miniseries that was
produced by BBC Northern Ireland and first
broadcast in June 1995.
It stars the four McGann brothers as the Phelans, a farming family who
struggle to survive
during the Irish Potato
Famine of the 1840s. They also have to deal with the wanton indifference
of the British bureacracy
to Ireland's plight and
the pettymindedness of an English land agent, who is not without compassion
but will always put
the dictates of the English
absentee landlords ahead of the needs of the struggling farmers. 'The Hanging
Gale' was based
on an original idea by Stephen
and Joe McGann, and attempts to tell the story of the famine by examining
its effects on
one family.
Paul McGann plays Father
Liam Phelan, who had shunned the family's traditional farming background
to enter the
priesthood. He does not
appear until the closing scenes of the first episode, when he is appointed
as the village priest
and arrives with a warning
that the potato blight has reached the valley where the Phelans live. Liam's
faith is severely
tested over the course of
the next three episodes as the famine begins to have an impact on the small
farming community,
the Phelans and their friends.
Liam is a man of principle, and puts his own life in danger when the land
agent and troopers
come to evict the Phelans'
father from his land. Liam also tries to reason with the English landowners,
and writes many
letters to "The Times" trying
to highlight the plight of the Irish, but the British show a uniform lack
of interest. Despite the
numerous tragedies that
befall the Phelans, including the death of one of their children from famine
and their father's death
during the eviction), Liam
does cling to his faith, although by the end of the miniseries two of his
brothers are dead and
the other is forced to flee
to America to start a new life.
The
verdict: 'The Hanging Gale' is period drama at its best. The
writing and the acting is superb, and the viewer cannot
help feeling empathy for
the Phelan family and their daily fight to survive. The four McGann's are
excellent, although their
Irish accents do slip occasionally,
and Michael Kitchen (best known for 'Foyle's War') is great as the land
agent. Hopefully
many peopl who watch this
miniseries and have little prior knowledge of the potato famine will be
encouraged to learn
more about this tragic episode
in Irish-British history.
Quote:
Liam:
'I cannot say mass. I do not believe. The great God of Heaven will come
down upon us all during this ...
my heart is
full of revenge. I pray that I may wash my feet in the blood of my enemies.' |
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