Great to see Karen Allen again, and Peter Riegert and Stephen Lang! Such good actors. This is a smallish, low-budget, independent film, but the it is carried by a good cast, younger actors included. Nick Thurston manages to avoid hackneyed playing of familiar family dynamics, making his moments very specific to the character of Brian, who emerges as definitely the hero of the story. Both Geoffrey Wigdor and Leslie Murphy efficiently and movingly convey the writer-director's idea of trapped people trying to escape their environment in different ways with varying outcomes. Personally, my favorite parts involved 1) the location in Suffern New York: the old Lafayette revival theater (playing itself!), and 2) the scripting of the final exchange between two of the characters; it was just what I wanted to see happen.

The movie is well done and the acting stellar. But it is burdened with a hackneyed plot: talented kid seeks to escape the stranglehold of his low-life culture, but family loyalties are ties not easily broken. This version takes us into the clutches of 1975 Irish-Americans, living their dreary lives in Brooklyn. The talented misfit is an artist with a drunken father, a weak mother, and a gang-banger older brother. The only question for the audience is whether it will end in despair or with a little Hollywood high-five.Yes, the plot is a universal one: you love your family, but you need to escape it and find your own way... A coming-of-age story. This one bothered me because the mother Margaret (Karen Allen) was such a beat- down martyr. Bad enough that the father (Stephen Lang) was the worst kind of put-your-dukes-up cliché of an Irish drunk. But the movie didn't live up to the flip side of the stereotype: the Irish woman who takes charge and who goes all out on behalf of her sons... or at least screams good and loud about it.In the end I just wound up being mad at the whole lot of them.

there is nothing much to say about this film, 30 minutes of this feels like an hour, if your into that then this movie is for you. its 1975 and everything is retro in this movie. bars, fights, petty crime, the love interest, family troubles, all the standard stuff you expect in this film like this. a small thing here and there to keep you on your toes and a shock and the movies over. don't expect much, there are better movies to wast your time on then this one. i don't think they actually skimped its the fact that you can't do much with what they had to work with. the castings not bad, the script could of used a little tweaking. it comes short on all things. watch CSPAN or something if your that bored, this one is not that good

This is such an incredible piece of work. A friend of mine had seen it and recommended it to me, and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to see it. This indie has it all: excellent writing, captivating cinematography, and an incredibly talented cast. It was so refreshing to see new talent like Nick Thurston work so incredibly well with the veterans of the cast. Stephen Lang, Karen Allen, and Geoff Wigdor also have captivating performances, but newcomer Thurston really stole the show for me. The story line beautifully carries the weight of alcoholism and the conflict of staying loyal to family while also trying to find your own way. Like any good film, White Irish Drinkers carries the viewer through a multitude of emotions, and they're left with a powerful presentation. You can really feel the director's passion for the story, and the characters' authenticity pulls in any audience. This isn't one to miss.