Young Danny Flynn is released from prison 14 years after "taking the rap" for the IRA and tries to rebuild his life in his old Belfast neighborhood.
Director:
Jim Sheridan
From metacritic.com
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Title: The Boxer (1997)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Daniel Day-Lewis | ... | Danny Flynn | |
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Daragh Donnelly | ... | Prison Officer |
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Frank Coughlan | ... | Prison Officer |
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Sean Kearns | ... | Prison Officer |
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Lorraine Pilkington | ... | Bride |
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Niall Shanahan | ... | Groom |
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John Wall | ... | Priest (as Father John Wall) |
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Maria McDermottroe | ... | Betty |
| Carol Moore | ... | Wedding Guest (as Carol Scanlan) | |
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Kate Perry | ... | Wedding Guest |
| Andrea Irvine | ... | Wedding Guest | |
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Joan McGarry | ... | Wedding Guest |
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Theresa McComb | ... | Wedding Guest |
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Catherine Dunne | ... | Wedding Guest |
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Kerrie Duggan | ... | Wedding Guest |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Nineteen-year-old Danny Flynn is imprisoned for his involvement with the I.R.A. in Belfast. He leaves behind his family and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Maggie Hamill. Fourteen years later, Danny is released from prison and returns to his old working class neighborhood to resume his life as a boxer, fighting and opening a boxing club training aspiring boxers. Maggie has since married Danny's best friend, who is also imprisoned for his I.R.A. activities. Although he has not denounced the I.R.A. or denigrated his I.R.A. colleagues, Danny has decided to live a life free of political violence. His boxing club is nonsectarian, open to both Catholics and Protestants. This move irks some of his old I.R.A. colleagues since they feel working with the Protestants will not resolve their David versus Goliath struggle. Danny's old I.R.A. colleagues, especially their unofficial leader Harry, resort to traditional tactics of violence to stop Danny. Maggie's father, Joe, also an I.R.A. activist, ... Written by Artemis-9
Plot Keywords:
boxer | boxing | belfast northern ireland | release from prison | boxing match |Taglines:
Love is always worth fighting for.Parents Guide:
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Traditional tune with lyrics by Frederick Edward Weatherly (as Weatherly)
[Incorrectly co-credited to Harold Samuel (as Samuel)]
Published by BOOSEY & HAWKES MUSIC PUB. LTD.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Eddie Carroll is the name of an actual Canadian hall-of-fame welterweight boxer who fought in the '30s and '40s. See more »Goofs
During the televised boxing match in Londonderry, no TV cameras are seen around the ring area. See more »Quotes
Joe Hamill: Grow up. Grow up! Stop living in the past and get your head into the future!See more »
Soundtracks
DANNY BOY (DERRY AIR)Traditional tune with lyrics by Frederick Edward Weatherly (as Weatherly)
[Incorrectly co-credited to Harold Samuel (as Samuel)]
Published by BOOSEY & HAWKES MUSIC PUB. LTD.
See more »
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
9 January 1998 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Boxer See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$86,097, 4 January 1998Gross USA:
$5,980,578Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$16,534,578Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day Lewis have teamed together in the the past creating exceptional films such as "In The Name of Father" and "My Left Foot", but, "The Boxer" unfortunately will not be added to that list. Though a decent movie and well worth watching, it just doesn't captivate like I'd hoped for. Daniel Day Lewis succeeds in portraying Danny Flynn, a former prestiged boxer and IRA member recently released from prison after a 14 year sentence. Upon his release his politics have changed and he seeks peace through training kids boxing at a local gym, much to the dismay of his former IRA "friends". Emily Watson plays his long lost and bitter lover, en-raged with him for leaving her. Both do fine jobs of acting but it feels like the chemistry just isn't there, plus, their history is never quite explained and leaves you frustrated at times. My real problem with the film is that Danny Flynn's character never truly develops, and all you really find out in this film is that he was a boxer, associated with the IRA and loves Emily Watson. It briefly tells that he was imprisoned for his involvement with the IRA, but never specifies. It's obvious Sheridan wanted to touch upon the theme of Prostestant and Catholics struggle in Northern Ireland to live with each other in harmony, but personally I feel he failed at doing so.