The Snapper

"She's got a little secret and a lot of explaining to do."

1993 1h 35m EN

😐

6.5

MID

★6.5TMDB · 94

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Sharon Curley is a 20-year-old living with her parents and many brothers and sisters in Dublin. When she gets pregnant and refuses to name the father, she becomes the talk of the town.

“She's got a little secret and a lot of explaining to do.”

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Cast

Colm Meaney
Dessie Curley
Tina Kellegher
Sharon Curley
Ruth McCabe
Kay Curley
Eanna MacLiam
Craig Curley
Peter Rowen
Sonny Curley
Joanne Gerrard
Lisa Curley
Colm O'Byrne
Darren Curley
Ciara Duffy
Kimberley Curley

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephen Frears
Writers: Roddy Doyle
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, Ireland

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, Ireland.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Part of the "The Barrytown Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stephen Frears, shot by Oliver Stapleton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stanley Myers. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mick Audsley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Colm Meaney and Tina Kellegher and Ruth McCabe carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "She's got a little secret and a lot of explaining to do.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephen Frears directs. Oliver Stapleton behind the camera. Stanley Myers scores. Mick Audsley cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, Ireland. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

133 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, Ireland.
3Part of the "The Barrytown Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Stephen Frears, shot by Oliver Stapleton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Stanley Myers. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mick Audsley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Colm Meaney and Tina Kellegher and Ruth McCabe carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "She's got a little secret and a lot of explaining to do.".
9IMDB entry: tt0108170 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 94 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Oliver Stapleton
Original score: Stanley Myers
Editing: Mick Audsley
Production design: Mark Geraghty
Costume design: Consolata Boyle
Makeup / hair: Anne Dunne
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Snapper (1993)

Awards

Goya Award for Best European Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Barrytown Trilogy

The Barrytown Trilogy is an Irish comedy-drama media franchise centered on the Rabbittes, a working-class family from Barrytown, Dublin. It began in 1988 when Beacon Pictures and 20th Century Fox bought the rights to the 1987 novel The Commitments by Roddy Doyle shortly after it was published. The book was successful, as was Alan Parker's 1991 film adaptation. The film received cult status and is regarded as one of the best Irish films ever made. In 1999, the British Film Institute ranked the film at number 38 on its list of the "100 best British films of the century", based on votes from 1,000 leading figures of the film industry. A sequel novel, The Snapper, was published in 1990, followed by a film adaptation in 1993. A third novel, The Van, was published and shortlisted for the 1991 Booker Prize, followed by a film adaptation in 1996.

Also by

Stephen Frears

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Peter McGinn2022-06-29
★ 7/10
The Snpper is certainly a lively and boisterous movie. Nobody is the least bit shy about expressing their opinion loudly and often. I have watched a lot of British and Irish movies over the years, but because of the emotional delivery and spreed of their talking, I missed a lot of details in the dialogue. But also because of the emotions displayed, I always had an idea about the tenor of the conversations. I thought a few of the subplots could have been given more screen time, but then again, they were almost always talking about the titular baby-to-be so I guess that is fair. Plus, the person who wrote the novel adapted it to the screenplay, so hr must have imported what he thought was important. (Hopefully future mothers watching the movie won’t come away thinking binge drinking during pregnancy is good for the baby and realize that yes, this is just a movie.) But The Snapper was entertaining and that is what counts.

Production companies