England,
1992, 84 min
Shown in 1993
CREDITS
- dir
-
Richard Spence
- prod
-
Chris Parr
- scr
-
Graham Reid
- cam
-
Graham Veevers
- editor
-
Greg Miller
- cast
-
Marc O’Shea, Bronagh Gallagher, Michael Liebmann, Lorcan Cranitch, Frank Grimes, Ian Mc Elhinney
- prod co
-
BBC
- source
-
BBC TV
-
COMMENTS
Richard Spence in person.
OTHER
Sean, his girlfriend Francis, Marley, and their mates are obsessed with the in-your-face thrill of ripping off cars and riding amok at lethal speeds before stripping parts for the black market and passing the leftovers on to younger kids. Amidst the atmosphere of heightened violence pervading the lunarscape of West Belfast daily, they are bionic rebels, intoxicated by, yet oblivious to the danger of their deadly sport—joyriding. Their parents are in denial but the community is in an uproar: it's time to put the brakes on this mutinous pastime. When the Royal Ulster Constabulary waffles, local IRA honchos offer to teach the troublemakers a civics lesson. Their draconian techniques only exacerbate an already volatile situation. This powerfully authentic tale spiked with gallows humor was written by Belfaster Graham Reid (whose Billy trilogy launched Kenneth Branagh) from an idea by first-time feature director Richard Spence. Following the footsteps of Mike Leigh's improvisational approach, Spence and his cast—both non- and professional actors including Bronagh Gallagher of The Commitments fame—concentrate their energies on tremendous performances which blur the distinction between fiction and fact. Extensively researched and approved by the West Belfast community, You, Me and Marley pulls no punches and takes no sides as it explores the very human dimension of a confounding social problem.
—Laura Thielen
FACTOID #80
The globetrotting thespian Anthony Quinn attended the 1969 San Francisco International Film Festival in support of the Opening Night film The Secret of Santa Vittoria, in which he played the half-drunk mayor of an Italian hamlet, protecting his town’s wine collection from German soldiers.
