An excellent film - really enjoyable.Though if one reads historical accounts about the exploits of allied and German internees in Ireland during WWII fact was even more strange than depicted in this film! Jean Butler played her part well considering her lack of previous film appearances she should be in more movies. Angus MacFadyen is superb as the Luftwaffe pilot, his aloof arrogance is tempered by his sense of fair play and humanity.A wonderful film which I enjoyed - the Isle of Man made a good surrogate for Ireland.

Having now seen "The Brylcreem Boys" for the third time, I adore the whole mood and feel of the piece. The subject matter (true, according to a recent article in the UK paper The Guardian) is handled in a way that only a British movie maker can do: with humor and without mawkishness. Suprisingly it was shot on the Isle of Man which just looks beautiful. As for the casting, it has to be one of the best and inspired collections of UK actors to be seen together for at least a decade. Gabriel Byrne gives one of the warmest performances and simply cannot loose his glint in his eye. Bill Campbell nearly steals every scene and for a genuine laugh-out-loud moment (his puzzled line at the escape) Marc Sinden is outstanding! The ensemble work as though they have been a team for years and play off each other in a way that should be a lesson for any aspiring movie actors and yet the majority are well-known Brit stage actors in their own right. A delight!

I thoroughly enjoyed the film. The location, although set in Ireland, was actually filmed mostly at Jurby Airfield on the Isle of Man, which is an old RAF station and in many ways still as shown in the film. The shot of the cottage by the beach at Niarbyl is the same one used as Ned Devines cottage in Waking Ned.

This film somehow manages to take a fascinating premise and totally destroy it with bad writing and some of the worst ensemble acting in a film that I have ever seen. Even the usually reliable Gabriel Byrne gives a one-dimensional performance. And he deserves a portion of the blame for making this fiasco, being one of the producers. All-in-all a waste of time and money that doesn't even qualify as good trash.