The Nephew

**

Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Donal McCann, Sinead Cusack, Hill Harper, Aislin McGuckin

Director: Eugene Brady

Rating: PG

Review: Naomi Larkin

Combining the James Bond pull of Brosnan with the flavour of the decade - the Irish film - should be more than enough to guarantee a blockbuster.

But the promise remains unfulfilled largely because The Nephew's plot rests heavily on the unravelling of old secrets and grudges which don't seem credible. Brosnan may have Irish ancestry but his performance is wooden and lacks the Irish spirit.

Tony Egan (McCann) is a grumpy, seemingly unlovable farmer on the tiny island of Inis Dara, off the coast of Ireland.

In a batch of bills he finds a letter from his sister, Karen, who left the island for America 20 years earlier after a bitter dispute with Tony. She is dying and her last wish is to have her ashes returned to Inis Dara. To fulfil this she will send her son Chad (Harper).

Tony announces Karen's death, directing his words specifically to his arch-rival, pub-owner Joe Brady (Brosnan).

But a shock is in store for Tony and the rest of the community when, at the island pier, he discovers Chad is black.

Chad's arrival and his budding romance with Brady's daughter Aislin (McGuckin) stir up a whole bunch of secrets the islanders have left to fester.

The Nephew offers many a chuckle, some of the funniest moments provided by the antics of two little Irish brothers who model themselves on Chad. They adopt his sayings, his haircut and his dress - eventually wearing a teatowel on their heads to imitate his head scarf.

The humour, along with the breathtaking scenery and the romance - always better when it is forbidden - combine to make The Nephew nice but not big.