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I did not want to see this movie. I figured it would be another schmaltzy TV movie-of-the-week blown up to big- screen proportions. This true-life story certainly has all the earmarks of a film destined to suffer from maudlin Lifetime network sentimentality: after his wife leaves him for greener pastures, a down-on-his-luck dad takes on the Irish courts to regain custody of his children. We all know how such a story is going to end, and can easily anticipate all the big scenes and emotional payoffs from a mile away. But while Evelyn is hardly the best example of this type a film, or even a worthy Irish facsimile of Kramer vs. Kramer, it succeeds admirably as a well-acted, well-mounted, feel-good tearjerker.

The highest compliment I can pay Paul Pender's restrained screenplay is that it takes a risk and makes our protagonist, Desmond Doyle, a rather unlikable loser from the get-go. Doyle is an alcoholic (hey, he's Irish) with plenty of attitude to burn: unkempt, stubborn and oftentimes just plain stupid. (When we first meet him, it's not hard to sympathize with the wife for taking off with another man.) He's not Dad of the Year, but of course Doyle is the classic underdog and will eventually redeem himself. Yet even here Pender makes the interesting decision to drop Doyle's two other orphaned boys from the narrative and focus instead entirely on the relationship between father and daughter. This tightens the focus on the core of the story, the tug-of-war between emotion and logic, one which the law can never fully reconcile. The story remains pro formula (you just know it's going to end with a big courtroom victory, don't you?) but thanks to Pender's and director Bruce Beresford's sure hand, each scene is tweaked just enough to make us feel like we almost haven't seen all of this before.

I also liked the quirky cast of supporting characters. As Doyle's unwaveringly loyal father, Frank Kelly provide the film's center of gravity, and Julia Marguiles shines as the obligatory love interest even if she is given far too little to do. The humor is wry but never at the expense of the film's seriousness, and even the young performers, especially Sophie Vavasseur as Evelyn, are not nearly as cherubic and precocious as they could have been. But what really raises Evelyn above the pedestrian is Pierce Brosnan. He gives a performance here that proves he is capable of far more than just playing it shaken, not stirred. He conveys all the big emotions, but also the subtle, interior grief of a parent separated from their child. It's a tough tightrope to walk, but he pulls it off flawlessly. It is too bad Evelyn was not a particularly big hit here in the States because it might have given the long-overdue actor a chance at more diverse roles. But lack of box office aside, Evelyn is the perfect Sunday afternoon cry-fest if you're in the mood for a little uplifting family drama.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

MGM Home Entertainment presents Evelyn in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, and it is perhaps the weakest aspect of this release. Not that it is bad, mind you, not at all. But it just doesn't pop, with an overall soft and misty look that feels flat. While the print is pristine, the film's visual style is very muted, awash in earth tones and muted oranges and browns. There are no vibrant primary hues at all, although fleshtones are accurate and colors reproduced smoothly. Blacks are rock solid, and contrast muted especially at the high end of the scale, which gives the transfer a very flat, two-dimensional look. The image also appears very soft and ill-defined, with shadow delineation barely average. There is no appreciable edge enhancement nor any compression artifacts, but Evelyn still looks like it was left out in the sun just a little too long.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, the soundtrack here is similar to the transfer. Not bad by any means, just lacking spark. There isn't much going on sonically in Evelyn, which is reflected in this front-heavy, low-key mix. It's a nicely recorded film with pleasing dynamic range, resulting in clear dialogue and warm highs and midrange. Surround use is meager, however, with just a hint of ambiance and no score extension. The .1 LFE doesn't have much to do, giving the soundtrack little kick. Again, it's perfectly fine, just no particularly involving.

Also included are French and Spanish Dolby 2.0 surround dubs, English, French and Spanish subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

While Evelyn wasn't a hit at the domestic box office, it did earn its share of critical plaudits, and MGM Home Entertainment has seen fit to put together a few nice supplements for its DVD release.

First up we have not one but two new screen- specific audio commentaries, the first with director Bruce Beresford, the second with Pierce Brosnan and co-producer Beau St. Clair. Both are solid commentaries, but I found the latter more enjoyable as Brosnan is quite passionate in what attracted him to the project (he also co-produced). Beresford is rather dry and technical at times, versus Brosnan, who of course sounds so suavely James Bond- ian that it is a kick just to hear him do a commentary. As co-producer as well as actor, he and St. Clair talk at length about the development of the project, the tough struggle to cast Alan Bates (why remains puzzling) and attracting Beresford to the project. While fans of the director should listen to his track as well, if you're gonna pick just one, I'd go with Pierce.

Next up are two featurettes: the 18-minute The Story Behind the Story and the 21-minute The Making of Evelyn. I suppose I enjoyed the former more, as it offers new interviews with Brosnan, St. Clair and screenwriter Paul Pender and just a few unobtrusive film clips. While it doesn't really delve too much into the true-life story behind the film (too bad no real documentary was produced on such a fascinating subject) but focuses instead on bringing the project to the screen. The Making of Evelyn is your typical EPK with onset interviews with all the main cast and crew, and is perfectly fine and glossy. Yes, it is an extended commercial, but a perfectly enjoyable one. (Oddly, The Story Behind the Story was produced in 1.78:1 widescreen, but is presented here non-anamorphic, despite the feature and the menus all being encoded as such. There are no optional subtitles or captions provided.)

Rounding out the extras is an entirely pleasant still gallery with about 30 stills divided into production, cast and publicity sections. There is also a soundtrack CD promo spot, the film's original theatrical trailer in anamorphic widescreen, and trailers for a couple of other MGM titles.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts