The Tiger's Tail (2006)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

John Boorman

Writer:

John Boorman (writer)

Release Date:

8 June 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

When your past is a lie... and your future is not your own

Plot:

After a chance encounter, a Dubliner (Gleeson) is stalked by a murderous facsimile of himself. |

Plot Keywords:

Animal In Title | Dublin Ireland | Mental Hospital | Capitalism | Brother Brother Relationship

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Brendan Gleeson	...	Liam O'Leary
Kim Cattrall	...	Jane O'Leary
Ciarán Hinds	...	Father Andy
Sinéad Cusack	...	Oona O'Leary
Sean McGinley	...	Declan Murray
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Angeline Ball	...	Ursula
Cathy Belton	...	Sally
Denis Conway	...	Bertie Brennan
Moira Deady	...	Maeve - Liam's Mother
Ned Dennehy	...	Felim
Michael FitzGerald	...	Male nurse
Briain Gleeson	...	Connor O'Leary
David Herlihy	...	Paul
John Kavanagh	...	Harry
Mark Lambert	...	District Judge
Ruth Lawlor	...	Larry's Secretary
Nigel Linden	...	Samantha's Boyfriend
Eanna MacLiam	...	The Beggar
Sean Markey	...	Drinker
Aonghus Og McAnally	...	Garda #2 (as Aonghus Óg McAnally)
Ruth McCabe	...	Large Woman
Michael McElhatton	...	Dr. Alex Loden
Charlene McKenna	...	Samantha
Geoff Minogue	...	Ambulance Driver
Conor Mullen	...	MC
Martin Murphy	...	Garda #1
Regan O'Brien	...	Nurse
Philip O'Sullivan	...	Assistant Governor
Derry Power	...	Eddie
Stanley Townsend	...	Jim Brady - The Banker
Paolo Tullio	...	Patrick Le Say
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor	...	Larry Cooney (as Tom Vaughan Lawlor)
Mary Woods	...	Prostitute

MPAA:

Rated R for a scene of sexuality, and brief drug content.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | UK:18 | Australia:MA | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Dublin Docks, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Fern Gully Tales

Trivia:

"The Tiger's Tail" refers to the "Celtic Tiger" economic boom that Ireland experienced from 1995 to 2008 (Ireland was said to officially be in recession as of June 24th 2008).

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Liam pulls up at Oona's house, his car is a 03 Golf with wheel trims. When they are taking Conor to the hospital a side shot of the car is shown which clearly shows the car with alloy wheels. The number plate on the car 03-D-55897 is the same in both shots.

Quotes:

Liam O'Leary: You fired a shotgun at me, that wasn't very brotherly was it?

Stale tale

The best way to criticise society is through satire.

A big-shot businessman (Gleeson) loses his identity to his identical twin.

Drab movie that should really have been a lot better. A man has his identity stolen - the story should be either funny or terrifying (see The Man Who Haunted Himself) - this movie is neither. Add in the usual acting faces that you see in EVERY Irish movie, drab cinematography, a pounding orchestral score (that would have been better suited to Boorman's Excalibur), dull scenes with no spark, predictable storytelling with zero surprises, and overdone background scenes of Temple Bar.

The point of the movie is that Ireland has lost its soul because of its economic boom. The way this movie tells the audience this is by having an extra holding a newspaper stating the country has the highest rich-poor gap in Europe. The reason for Gleeson's pal's failure in life is blamed (predictably) on the church. The son is considered a weirdo not for his political beliefs but because it's uncool to join the Communist party.

Another problem is that Gleeson's character is not really likable so we don't care what happens to him. For such a strong, successful and determined man he doesn't put up much resistance to his twin taking his identity. He should have behaved more furious and violent.

A Tiger's Tale is a big disappointment and is one of director Boorman's weakest movies.