This is a terrific film from Neil Jordan: paving the way for some of his later, more famous works - but to my mind, this is his best film. Once you get past the quirk of casting Sinead O'Connor as Our Lady (a performance of great respect and ability, it turns out...) and get into the film, it's clear from an early stage that you are watching something pretty special. The acting is first rate throughout. The plaudits awarded to Eamonn Owens as Francie Brady are entirely deserved - it is a REMARKABLE performance, devoid of any guile or staginess, full of the intensity and sadness of childhood. He is supported by acting greats Stephen Rea and Fiona Shaw as his father, and nemesis respectively, and there isn't a bum note in the whole thing. It is an imaginative and almost unbearably sad film (and as only sad films can be it is also remarkably funny) that deserves to enjoy huge success and CERTAINLY deserves a DVD release, which at time of writing, was already long overdue.