Eat the Peach

The 'Eat the peach' of the title comes from a poem by T.S. Eliot: 'The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock' and is about doing whatever you want to do and not worrying about what other people think.

There have been worse Irish films inflicted on the world. Especially those dealing with historical figures and events yet unconcerned with accuracy. INTNOTF and (no names) the one which insulted peoples intelligence by, among other anomalies, having booby trapped cars go off in the middle of Dublin castle in 1919 ???????? Hardly visionary.

Eat the peach, on the other hand, is a solid little film. A work of pure imagination. Set in the early eighties it captured the reality of life for a lot of people with a lot of time on their hands and little money in their pockets, a full ten years before the tiger struck, when there were few prospects other than to go abroad. So here you have a film about a guy that wants to do something different and stand out from the crowd.

Both times I saw it I was abroad and as it was filmed in the area I am from (having watched some of it being filmed when I was a kid) there could be an element of bias borne of sentimentality to this review. though, my partner, an Aussie of eclectic taste, also thinks its a good film. And its hard to please her.

Filmed in the same year as another excellent Irish film, 'Lamb', it may not have a big budget but it has a lot of heart and a lot of honesty. The soundtrack is excellent. Hopefully they release it on DVD at some point soon.

It may look a bit bleak but it was filmed during the wettest summer I can remember, 1985. I love the opening scene of the boys tearing about on the bikes across the bog past the peat machines with the uileann pipes on the soundtrack. It may not be the 'Torres del Paine' or 'the Flinders ranges' but it is home.

Oh Dear God! This was on the TV again the other day and it served to remind us just what a truly appalling specimen of film making looks like. It's hard to believe that, back when Irish films were a rarity (and a film not about the IRA even rarer), there was actually a stirring of excitement about this films release.

This film would be quite good were it not for the lame plot, dull characters, and feeble dialogue. Oh and the sets, actors, production, and weather were all a let down as well. How did the great Eamonn Morrissey (and others who deserve better) get caught up in this mess.

The sheer crapness of this film alone was enough to convince people that nothing of any cinematic worth would ever emerge from this island. Thankfully this view has been proved wrong, thanks to visionaries such as Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan and many others who have given us many great films over the past decade.

However, this film's place in cinematic history should be guaranteed thanks to The Most Spectacular Piece of Miscasting in the History of Film - Niall Toibin (venerable comedian, character actor, and professional Corkonian) demeaning everyone concerned with his hilarious "American Businessman" routine.

Still, it's better than The Courier.

As an Irish person, I like to catch as many home-made films as possible when they are in the cinema. In the case of this one, I wish I'd stayed home in front of the TV. There's a hackneyed storyline which falls back on every Oirish cliche in the book, cardboard characters and nothing to keep you watching. Stay away my friends.

I did not find this movie to be the piece of crap that some here thought it was. Of course, then again, I'm not from Ireland and didn't see it through their (perhaps personal) eyes. I found it to be an honest, not stupid, little slice of life story about struggles of life and personal dreams, small though they may be. I surely saw a countryside unlike any in the states. The star, as it should be, is the wall-of-death these guys build. I was pleased that it is a focus here, and is shown a lot. It is shown throughout, as they actually had to build it from the ground up for the movie. It is very real. Watch it flex. It's hard to find an old wall-of-death touring in the US anymore. The riding-the-wall shots are frequent, done well, and show these actors honestly riding. This is refreshing. Compare that to movies about any other action-activity or sport like climbing, racing, football, horses, etc.

The film is about two men with a random and frivolous idea, actually if they were to have any respect for the circumstances they were living in it's a stupid idea. Nevertheless they commit themselves to it and in following through on their commitment they find resources of courage and creativity, shining a light back onto a 1980's Ireland so lacking in those traits.

The film doesn't make itself out to be better than the characters, it shares their commitment to the beauty of the idea and to the internal logic and urgency of the project. It's not ironic or snide and the characters aren't made out to be quaint or laughable. There's a space and a gentleness in the way they pass the time (which is one thing they're rich in) with each other and their families.

The reality they're up against is a fairly accurate depiction of the spirit and mood of 1980's Ireland if my memory serves, and the filmmakers somehow managed to get it financed and produced without paying for foreign investment with clichéd scenes for the prejudices of our Anglo-American cousins. I'm amazed that some meddling producer didn't push for a humorous confession scene where the priest turns out to be an expert on motorcycles, or protest that the pub with the bare walls and silent characterless men staring down into their pints didn't look "Irish" enough. Most of the time as Irish people we have to cringe or fast forward through these scenes, but this film has details and in-jokes just for us - the Southfork-inspired house of the local bigwig, the ministerial Merc, the young, dynamic Pat Kenny stepping out of the RTE van.