Following in the footsteps of Rabbit-Proof Fence, another movie tugs at the viewer’s heartstrings this year by focusing on children removed from their home with the best of intentions, misguided as they are. Shifting from Australia to the Emerald Isle, Evelyn deals with a father’s efforts to reclaim his three children after they have been remanded to orphanages run by the Catholic Church.

Based on an actual landmark Dublin case back in 1953, Evelyn relies heavily on sentimentality and stereotypes, unlike the more realistic presentations in Rabbit-Proof Fence. Pierce Brosnan, with his impeccable brogue (this actor is, after all, a bona fide Irishman) and his look of brooding weariness, makes a convincing dad struggling to reunite with his daughter and two sons. However, Brosnan’s finest non-Bondish performance yet fails to overcome such nonsense as "rays of sunlight" interpreted to be messages from angels or from dead relatives.

Brosnan plays Desmond Doyle, a man whose wife leaves him without giving anyone (not even her own mother) a forwarding address. Because he’s out of work and there’s no longer "a woman of the house," the government takes charge of his children. When Doyle finds employment, he discovers it doesn’t help with his problem. Because of an Irish law, his wife’s signature must be obtained granting permission for him to have custody of the youngsters. That’s not possible, so he decides to take his case to the Irish Supreme Court. His helpers? A barmaid (Julianna Margulies), her lawyer brother (Stephen Rea), another lawyer from the U.S.A. (Aidan Quinn), and yet another lawyer (Alan Bates), the latter quite famous in his day – though one wonders why since he mumbles most of his so-called wise advice.

Meanwhile, Doyle’s darlin’ daughter Evelyn (Sophie Vavasseur) faces battles of her own, primarily with a sadistic nun. Sister Bridget (Andrea Irvine) apparently hates all children, but especially Evelyn Doyle. She brutally slaps Evelyn for protesting the beating of another child. Fortunately, there’s also a sympathetic nun (Karen Ardiff) at the orphanage who helps the girls whenever she can. Because Vavasseur is so Shirley Temple-like cute and precocious, it’s hard to imagine anyone physically abusing her. And to me, this lovely child appears more suited for light comedies than for serious dramas like Evelyn. 

Annoying stereotypes also troubled me here. As a person of Irish-American descent, I cringe at jokes about how God invented alcohol to keep the Irish from taking over the world, and I’m fed up with movie depictions of the Irish as a bunch of boozers. Sadly, use of alcohol permeates practically every scene involving adults in Evelyn. Okay, I know many sequences take place in a pub, but the drinking spills over into other areas also – even into the courtroom. Enough already!

Still, none of the film’s faults detracted from my delight at hearing Brosnan warble a few Irish ditties to help raise money for his character’s noble cause. Nor did they lessen the thrill of seeing a father take on both Church and State in order to win back his beloved children.

(Released by United Artists/MGM and rated "PG" for thematic elements and some language.)