The Snapper is directed by Stephen Frears and adapted to screenplay by Roddy Doyle from his own novel of the same name. It stars Colm Meaney, Tina Kellegher, Ruth McCabe, Fionnula Murphy and Brendan Gleeson.

The Snapper is the middle part of what became known as Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy (The Commitments and The Van either side of it). The Snapper of the title is a baby expected by young Sharon Curley (Kellegher) when she unexpectedly falls pregnant during a drunken liaison. Refusing to name who the father is, the strain on the large Curley family reaches breaking point, especially when the neighbourhood and so called friends begin to point and judge with malice. Can the Curley family pull through? It's going to need some humour and no end of Irish family grit to do so.

Affectionate realism draped in comedy, The Snapper in Frears' hands unfolds as an original take on the stress caused to a family by an unplanned pregnancy. Initially the film's structure feels bumpy, the blending of family drama with uproariously scripted comedy, but once you settle into it you realise that this is exactly how the Curley family are feeling, how they cope. As we get deeper into the picture, and there is much human depth here, peripheral characters come alive and the relationship between Sharon and her father Des (Meaney) really holds the attention whilst simultaneously tickling the requisite emotional threads.

Impeccably performed (Meaney, Kellegher and McCabe are terrific) and with a great script brought vividly to life by Frears, The Snapper is very much a recommended bowl of comedy drama Irish Stew. 8/10

Sharon Curley (Tina Kellegher) is a 20 year old living at home with her parents and many siblings. She announces that she's pregnant but refuses to name the father. She's keeping the baby (snapper). Her father Dessie (Colm Meaney) is supportive, and defends her against town gossip about the identity of the father.

This is the second of Roddy Doyle's "Barrytown Trilogy". Due to rights issue, the Rabbitte family name isn't used. It's a TV movie but it does have a cinematic feel. The acting is so great especially Meaney and Kellegher. They make the characters come alive. Their boisterous personalities come across as family relations. This is both touching and funny. It is brilliant.

"The Snapper" may not be the sort of movie that you would usually notice, but it is definitely worth seeing. Portraying 20-year-old Dubliner Sharon Curley (Tina Kellegher) getting pregnant and refusing to identify the father, the movie makes the most of itself. Crappy flicks like "Nine Months" have dealt with pregnancy, but this one is actually interesting. Aside from the fact that it shows working-class life in Ireland, we also get to see how dad Dessie (Colm Meaney) had for so long ignored the female reproductive system - despite his wife Kay's (Ruth McCabe) many pregnancies - but now starts to take an interest in that.

All in all, this is a modern masterpiece. It has something for everyone. All that I can say further is: Erin go bragh!