Rent Cal (1984)
3.3 of 5 from 58 ratings
1h 38min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Cal is 19, frightened, lonely. He has no stomach for the violence surrounding him. But his past leaves him little hope for escape. Academy Award-winning filmmaker David Puttnam (Chariots of Fire, The Killing Fields, Memphis Belle) presents 'Cal', a harrowing, sensitive love story set within the hatred of strife-torn Northern Ireland. Helen Mirren stars as Marcella, a librarian widowed by IRA bullets...John Lynch is Cal, a reluctant accessory to the murder. Each lives in a world of loneliness - until they tentatively reach out and find each other. Like his work on 'Local Hero' and 'The Princess Bride', Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler has provided a music score both moody and tender - in keeping with the haunting, intimate tone brought to the story by director Pat O'Connor. In its gritty portrayal of the forces that overshadow Cal and Marcella, 'Cal' brings the Irish conflict home in piercingly human terms. - Actors:
- Helen Mirren, John Lynch, Donal McCann, John Kavanagh, Ray McAnally, Stevan Rimkus, Catherine Gibson, Louis Rolston, Tom Hickey, Gerard Mannix Flynn, Seamus Forde, Edward Byrne, J.J. Murphy, Audrey Johnson, Brian Munn, Daragh O'Malley, George Shane, Julia Dearden, Yvonne Adams, Laurence Foster
- Directors:
- Pat O'Connor
- Producers:
- David Puttnam
- Writers:
- Bernard MacLaverty
- Studio:
- Warner
- Genres:
- Drama, Romance, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Acting Up: Top 10 Performances At Cannes, Getting to Know: Helen Mirren
- Awards:
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Reviews (1) of Cal
A bit thin on plot - Cal review by Big Bob
This film is a bit full of cliches and a bit contrived. Ultimately the first class acting saves this from being a total waste of time. Very much seen though the perspective of 'Cal', a disillusioned former IRA driver who wants 'out' played by John Lynch who is in almost every scene. The usual characters turn up, RUC thugs, IRA thugs, bigots, idiots, and so on.
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