This Is My Father

A middle-aged school teacher (James Caan), beset by his own failure in a thankless job, travels to Ireland to learn the truth about the star-crossed courtship between his parents (Aidan Quinn, Moya Farrelly) during the 1930s. The film is an obvious labor of love for the three Quinn brothers—star Aidan, cinematographer Declan and writer/director Paul. Sincerity and good intentions abound, but so do clumsiness and gratuitous story elements that stretch the thin story out to a plodding 120 minutes. The main plotline, bolstered by fine performances by Farrelly, Aidan Quinn and Gina Moxley as Farrelly’s alcoholic mother, is strong enough, but the modern framing story, with Caan and Jacob Tierny as his snotty, ill-tempered nephew, is dreary soap opera and a waste of film and time.