Good condition rental version DVD of a fine family drama

Based on that not-so-precious motion picture commodity known as the "true story," Bruce Beresford's "Evelyn" is a perfectly agreeable, efficiently directed and expertly acted underdog drama set in Ireland, circa 1953.

The factual events involve the legal battle between a working-class, newly single Dublin dad (robustly played by Pierce Brosnan) and the Irish courts that have placed his daughter and two sons in Church-run orphanages.

It's traditional moviemaking all the way, but it's done with a lot of careful period attention as well as some very welcome wit, which often gets overlooked in true story situations.

Even with likable Brosnan leading the way, United Artists is going to require the luck of the Irish to turn "Evelyn" into an unqualified hit, but skilled marketing building on decent word-of-mouth could help generate respectable domestic returns.

When Desmond Doyle's (Brosnan) wife ups and leaves him for another man at Christmas, he also loses his three kids when the courts determine that a single dad who works sporadically as a master painter is unfit to care for his children, especially given his notoriety at the neighborhood pub.

Spurred on by his self-possessed daughter Evelyn (played with winning verve by young Sophie Vavasseur) and encouraged to clean up his act by lovely Bernadette (Julianna Margulies), a chemist by trade who helps out at her uncle's pub, Doyle refuses to give up hope.

After busting into the orphanage fails to win any sympathy points with the sisters, Doyle finally secures a legal team (Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn and a delightfully irascible Alan Bates) to help him take his case right up to the Irish Supreme Court.

Triumph ultimately and predictably ensues, but getting there is quite pleasant thanks to the veteran director's considerable storytelling skills and Paul Pender's rousing script.

It's nice to see Brosnan get a chance to coarsen up that suave demeanor somewhat as well as speak in something that comes closer to his native dialect. He shows his appreciation for that opportunity with a committed, passionate performance.

Behind the scenes, cinematographer Andre Fleuren, production designer John Stoddart and costume designer Joan Bergin ably assist Beresford in creating the kind of richly detailed environment where you can smell the stale ale in the local pub just as sure as you can feel the dust-filled rays of sunshine forcing their way through the ancient windows of austere convents and solemn courthouses.

EVELYN
MGM
United Artists presents
in association with First Look Media and Cinerenta
an Irish DreamTime production
Credits:
Director: Bruce Beresford
Screenwriter: Paul Pender
Producers: Pierce Brosnan, Beau St Clair, Michael Ohoven
Executive producers: Eberhard Kayser, Mario Ohoven, Kieran Corrigan, Simon Bosanquet
Director of photography: Andre Fleuren
Production designer: John Stoddart
Editor: Humphrey Dixon
Costume designer: Joan Bergin
Composer: Stephen Endelman
Cast:
Desmond Doyle: Pierce Brosnan
Nick: Aidan Quinn
Bernadette: Julianna Margulies
Michael: Stephen Rea
Wolfe: John Lynch: Evelyn Doyle: Sophie Vavasseur
Tom Connolly: Alan Bates
Dermot Doyle: Niall Beagan
Maurice Doyle: Hugh MacDonagh
Henry Doyle: Frank Kelly
Running time -- 94 minutes
MPAA rating: PG