Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Ciaran Fitzgerald, Ruaidhri Conroy, David Kelly, Ellen Barkin, Colm Meaney
Director: Mike Newell
Producers: Jonathan Cavendish and Tim Palmer
Screenplay: Jim Sheridan based on a story by Tom Sigel
Cinematography: Newton Thomas Sigel
Music: various
U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films
Papa Riley (Gabriel Byrne), a widower, and his two young sons, Ossie (Ciaran Fitzgerald) and Tito (Ruaidhri Conroy), live in the run-down projects of Dublin. Their life is pretty bleak until the arrival of the boys' grandfather (David Kelly) with a glorious white stallion by the name of Tir na nOg, a figure out of Irish legends, who takes an instant liking to Ossie and Tito. Events conspire, however, to separate the horse from the children, as he is impounded by corrupt police officers and sold to a wealthy businessman. Never fear, though -- it's Ossie and Tito to the rescue. They steal back Tir na nOg, and, with their father and the police in pursuit, head westward.
Into the West is probably the first-ever Western to be set in Ireland. Actually, it isn't a Western per se, but more of a modern-day fairy tale. Certainly, a great deal of what happens is beyond the realm of reality and requires a willing suspension of disbelief. Director Mike Newell perhaps put it best when he said, "There are certain things that happen in the film that cannot happen unless the world is a very odd, mysterious, and unreal sort of place."
Gabriel Byrne, in a fine performance as a grief-embittered widower, plays a member of a gypsy-like group of nomads called the Travelers. In 1985, following the death of his wife Mary in childbirth, he rejected the band and headed for the civilized world, where he ended up eking out an existence and spending far too much time in Dublin's bars. While much of Into the West focuses on the adventures of the children, Papa Riley's redemption is an important subplot.
In typical fairy tale fashion, there's a clear delineation between who the audience is supposed to sympathize with and who they aren't. At the end, the good guys are rewarded and the bad guys get their comeuppance, so those who don't like happy endings might be galled by Into the West's final moments.
The juxtaposition of reality and fantasy somehow doesn't gel perfectly. The blending of the two is not seamless, and this sometimes makes the story's progression feel forced and unnatural. Also, for most of the movie, I was wondering if there was a point. Ultimately, there is -- and a very telling one at that -- but you have to wait the entire picture to discover it.
There are several memorable scenes in Into the West involving Tir na nOg in unusual surroundings. Who can forget seeing the horse prance around the inner corridors and elevator of the high-rise building where the children live, or watching him in a movie theater while his two young friends enjoy Back to the Future 3?
Into the West has its heart in the right place, even if frequently defies logic. The movie is not as endearing as Newell's previous film, Enchanted April, nor is it as poignant as screenwriter Jim Sheridan's My Left Foot, but it has its moments, and is definitely suitable for all but the youngest children. Like The Secret Garden, it has moments to captivate adults as well as their smaller counterparts.
© 1993 James Berardinelli