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Glaswegian director Gillies MacKinnon would go on (four years later) to make his masterpiece, the gangland coming-of-age drama, Small Faces, but in 1992 MacKinnon secured a big name in his cast (and writer) for this Irish-set comedy drama. I was surprised to see the MGM logo emblazoned for only MacKinnon’s second feature, but with a star name like Albert Finney and with Hollywood actress Robin Wright in support this made sense and MacKinnon acquits himself well here with a script by (My Left Foot) Oscar-nominated screenwriter, Shaun Connaughton. The film’s set-up, whereby Wright’s unmarried mother, Tara, is ostracised by the 1950s rural Irish border community in the face of the amorous attentions of numerous would-be husbands, including Finney’s police sergeant and ex-alcoholic, Hegarty, is relatively original and (with Connaughton’s sharp ‘local’ script), makes for a deal of entertainment.
As with Small Faces, MacKinnon demonstrates a knack of capturing the 'vernacular’ and (period) mood of a closely-knit community, here populated with a superior 'local’ cast. As the titular troupe of travelling actors descend on Tara’s community we get Milo O’Shea as head man and impresario, Freddie Fitzgerald, plus Aidan Quinn’s actor, Tom, (also Tara’s potential suitor), plus Ian McElhinney, Adrian Dunbar (in a brief cameo) and (in the village) a host of young child actors, wise-cracking away in the background. As ever in such a community, the local church (and priest played superbly by Alan Devlin) has something of a moral stranglehold (despite taking a back-hander from The Playboys) on behaviour ('You can’t fly in the face of God’) and what is allowed from Freddie’s productions. MacKinnon’s period evocation is skilfully done – Tara and her sister (an impressive Niamh Cusack) dance to Bill Haley’s Shake, Rattle and Roll, whilst the locals struggle to secure the aerial for a ‘new-fangled’ television. From an excellent scene-setting first half, the film latterly does follow a more formulaic pattern between Tara and (obvious) love interest Tom, (plus there is a largely redundant 'IRA plot’ thread) but MacKinnon’s cast is excellent throughout. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Finney excels as the hard-done-by figure of authority, but more surprising is the equally good turn by Wright and both (to my untrained ear, at least) seem to have mastered quite convincing Irish accents (compared, say, with a great Orson Welles in The Lady From Shanghai!).
It's not a film that will unseat (the highly recommended) Small Faces as my favourite MacKinnon film, but The Playboys is nevertheless an entertaining watch.
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