Ash Wednesday (2002)

Gets a little interesting toward the end

The first half of this movie, Ed Burns' character, has everyone asking him if his brother is alive, who was supposed to have been dead for 3 years, and he denies this. The second half everyone finds out his brother is alive and the mob is after him for killing 3 of their mob members.If you can get past the first half of the movie (had to skip a chapter or 2), it gets a little more interesting. All in all it moves at a snail's pace. August 20, 2006

Unengaging,

When I read the synopsis on hbo one night and saw that it would be on shortly, I was more than looking forward to seeing it. I'm a huge fan of good cinema and of everything Irish. Almost immediately into the film it was clear it was a let down. Two medicore performances from the main characters heavily contributed to this. Just not belivable. At some points I felt like I was watching a novice scene being played out in an acting school. Wood really stunk and was actually annoying, and Burn's nonchalant approach might have been to nonchalant. Lackluster performances aside I kinda liked the story Idea. I think the movie could have had some potential, given it was handed over to some writers/directors with a little more potential than Burns. The high point of the movie may be it's cinematogrophy. This one's worth skipping. September 7, 2005

Ash Wednesday: Riveting

Ash Wednesday is a dark movie with a prosaic plot line and a simple theme. But like many simple things, there are layers of complexity in the fabric of this film-mostly from the sturdy script and the superlative character acting. The viewer is given a New York texture-the old neighborhood, even if the Hell's Kitchen area of New York City was leveled twenty years prior to the action-the look and feel is just about right to our mind for a grim Irish Catholic object lesson with a Johnny One-Note theme.
Ed Burns, and it is Ed Burns' film, delivers a solid performance as the repentant Francis Sullivan, who is seeking salvation from his former life. He's not so repentant that he's above adultery, but his brother Sean is supposed to be permanently out of the picture -so does adultery count? Francis is an intense character, gaining credibility through repetitive phrasing as if the only way he knows the next steps are by repeating them. He also wins the F word award as the only adjective in his vocabulary-although his metaphors are as colorful as Archie Bunkers. Burns is riveting in his portrayal and the rest of the cast rides along on the tracks he lays.

Elijah Wood, in an unusual role for him, plays the younger brother, who is imaginative, college material and forward looking, if not a dreamer-but not above killing three men on impulse and returning from the dead on a whim. Wood gives us a foil against Burns' character. While Francis is focused, Sean is not. He lives in a fantasy world (sometimes). He's angry at other times. There could even be a tinge of bi-polarism in this character. Wood unsettles us in his remarkable portrayal, which leaves the character unresolved and allows the audience to forecast Sean's ultimate failure.

Mallachy McCourt as Whitey, the Irish Godfather, gives us a stereotype, but exactly with the right tessitura to make the neighborhood more Irish than Italian. Oliver Platt is excellent as the rival Mike Moran-menacing and uncompromising, vengeful and the villain-type we all cheer when he's killed. Rosario Dawson as Grace Quinonez adds the anguish to the texture, as Burns doesn't do anguish and Wood can't come down to earth long enough to deliver it. As the wife in love with two brothers and the victim of circumstance, she's a bit like Juliet and as such, James Handy, as Father Mahoney, plays the Friar. In fact, the film has many Romeo and Juliet parallels-a hero who murders to protect his best friend (in this case, his brother); a meddlesome nurse (in this case a barfly named Maggie Shea); gang rivalry although not to the pitch of the Montagues and Capulets; and, of course, the theme that families must pay for their darkest crimes with the blood of the innocent (in this case, the not-so-innocent).

The unrelenting darkness of Ash Wednesday, after all Ash Wednesday is supposed to be a heavy day of atonement, might not be for all tastes. However, with a Shakespearean texture, solid performances from Burns and Wood (and the supporting cast of types), this film should not be overlooked, even though you might not pop it in your DVD player as often as The Lord of the Rings. A.
August 27, 2005

A film for a thinking audience -

This is an extraordinary film, considering that it was shot in only 20 days for a cost of two and a half million.

Ed Burns is Francis Sullivan, the oldest son of a union boss, a former longshoreman, and a first-class killer. Elijah Wood is Sean Sullivan, Francis' younger brother, a killer by default. Sean is exiled to a place somewhere out of the neighborhood for his own good, but one day, he returns to Hell's Kitchen and the story begins. Without going into a plot synopsis (I'm not going to explain something you can see for yourself), I will say that the plot is character-driven, and that it unfolds in a very logical manner.

Rosario Dawson and Burns (as always) are enjoyable to watch. Elijah Wood is believable as Sean. The soundtrack is good, and so is the cinematography. As a director, Burns did a great job. The Director's commentary on the CD was extremely interesting and pointed out things about the production of the film that were less than obvious. As a comparison, 'Sleepers' was another film that dealt with some aspects of Hell's Kitchen, even though the story was vastly different. Even so, parts of 'Ash Wednesday' had the same sort of feel. Maybe it was the mindset.

However, I'm sure that this film will have a narrower demographic appeal than films like 'Lord of the Rings' or 'Star Wars', simply because of the religious, ethnic and class issues that define the structure of 'Ash Wednesday'. If your background is something other than Irish Catholic, you're not male, and you're not familiar with life in the big city, then you'll probably have to work at understanding the film's characters and the story itself.

The story is well thought out, but it obviously wasn't meant for the same audience that buys into Paris Hilton, the 'Atkins' diet, or enjoys watching 'reality' shows on television. That alone is refreshing. I hope that Edward Burns continues to make films as well-crafted as this one.
June 14, 2005

Ash Wednesday needs a makeover. Badly

The only good thing about this movie happens to be the score. But not even Elijah Wood could hope to salvage anything of this very boring, very irritating movie.

Let me just say that Edward Burns does not do a very good job in impressing anybody. It always seems as though the basic element of his films is swearing, swearing...and more swearing. So much in fact that it begins to grate on our already raw nerves, nerves that began to snap after the first ten minutes of this film.

Also, what brother would, or could do such an evil thing to his brother as to tell his 'supposed' widow her husband was cruelly murdered, and then sleep with her behind his very much alive brothers back.The complete lack of sympathy or compassion that Edward Burn portrays in this film and in Confidence makes one wonder what he's really trying to prove. Maybe that a dead pan face and even deader sense of acting really can make produce a movie.

Not even the music, which was rather creepy, could save this. Unless you absolutely must watch everything Elijah Wood has acted in, don't even rent this wooden piece of a film. Its just not worth the headache. April 28, 2005

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