Film
Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in Chicago, plus articles, trailers and more
- Home
- Box Office
- Listings
- Trailers
- Features
Bookmark this page- Edition:
A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
Director: Mike Hodges
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
It would be nice to say that Hodges' movie about an IRA man - chopped about by other hands, laden with opprobrium after Enniskillen - is a noble ruin. Actually, it is so preposterously melodramatic that you can relish every minute. Sickened by killing, IRA hit man Fallon (Rourke, great accent) flees to England, contacting crime boss Meehan (Bates, camp) to get a new passport. Meehan's price is one more hit, but in carrying out the contract Fallon is seen by Father Da Costa (Hoskins, ludicrously miscast). To silence the priest, Fallon tricks him into hearing his confession, but the police and an IRA hit team are closing in. There is still time, however, for Fallon to fall in love with the priest's blind, organ-playing niece, and for ex-SAS Father DaCosta to go berserk and flatten three heavies with a dustbin lid. Will Fallon manage to rescue priest and niece, who are tied to the top of the belfry tower with a time-bomb, and thereby save his soul, if not his ass?Author: BC
Cast & crew
Director: Mike Hodges
Producer: Peter Snell
Cast: Mickey Rourke, Bob Hoskins, Alan Bates, Sammi Davis, Christopher Fulford, Liam Neeson, Leonard Termo full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 108 mins
Features
Gray's anatomy
James Gray wants to push buttons—again.
The next big thing?
Gigantic Releasing tries to rethink indie distribution…without movie theaters.
Red Diva: Lyubov Orlova, First Lady of Soviet Cinema
So you think you can dance, comrade?
Puppet master
Coraline director Henry Selick takes stop-motion animation into 3-D.
Socratic method
Laurent Cantet's approach on the set matches the message of his film.
Wander woman
Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy puts a Bush-era spin on the road movie.
Oscars
Read our interviews with the nominees, our reviews of the nominated films and more.
What do you think?
Post your review now