Synopsis
Alfie Byrne is a middle-aged bus conductor in Dublin in 1963. He would appear to live a life of quiet desperation: he's gay, but firmly closeted, and his sister is always trying to find him "the right girl". His passion is Oscar Wilde, his hobby is putting on amateur theatre productions in the local church hall. We follow him as he struggles with temptation, friendship, disapproval, and the conservative yet oddly lyrical world of Ireland in the early 1960s.
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Cast
- Albert FinneyAlfred Byrne
- Brenda FrickerLily Byrne
- Michael GambonIvor J. Carney
- Tara FitzgeraldAdele Rice
- Rufus SewellRobbie Fay
- Patrick MalahideInspector Carson
- David KellyChristy Ward
- Mick LallyFather Ignatius Kenny
- Anna ManahanMrs Grace
- Joe PilkingtonErnie Lally
Recommendations
- 100
San Francisco Chronicle
Delightfully comic - and the funniest moments are rich in meaning - A Man of No Importance is laced with memorable scenes. - 80
Empire
This is full to brimming with doleful pathos and a potent cast. - 80
The New York Times
A Man of No Importance is a small film with far more charm than its premise might suggest. It is acted with great warmth and wit by an ideal cast. - 78
Austin Chronicle
Finney's portrayal of Alfie is heartbreaking in its naïveté about his own desires, yet he also brings to the character an unbridled joy in life's basic pleasures. - 75
Boston Globe
Albert Finney's name on a cast list is a guarantee of pleasure, and there's much to savor besides in Suri Krishnamma's A Man of No Importance. [03 Feb 1995] - 75
ReelViews
The only thing of real importance in A Man of No Importance is Albert Finney's performance. - 75
San Francisco Examiner
[Krishnamma] gives the story a dimension of pent-up anguish and melancholy. - 67
Christian Science Monitor
It's a modest film in most respects, but Albert Finney as Alfie is a man of great importance indeed, reminding us again that he's one of the most towering talents in film today.
