Distant Voices, Still Lives

9/5/2023

This film is a little like an LP. It has two distinct sides. One "Distant Voices" focuses on just what makes the father of a small family tick. Two - "Still Lives" dwells more on the lives of the children. Unlike on the vinyl though, once we are on that side of the record there are no tracks. The story flits about with a non-consistent chronology to bring us the happy, the sad, the brutal and the gentle and it really does showcase well the acting talents of Pete Postlethwaite as the father. A man of the times, who treats women with scant regard. Not, perhaps, because he is inherently cruel or nasty, but because he knows no better? Even his wife (a strong, if sparing, contribution from Freda Dowie) has to tread on eggshells much of the time. There are three children - "Eileen" (Angela Walsh