''An Everlasting Piece'' is a 2000 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as '' Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); '' Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ...

, written by and starring

Barry McEvoy Barry McEvoy is a Northern Irish film actor/writer best known for writing and playing the lead in '' An Everlasting Piece'' (2000), directed by Barry Levinson. McEvoy's first screen appearance of note was in the supporting role of a gangster in ...

. The plot involves two wig salesmen, one

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and one

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, who live in war-torn

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, in the mid-1980s. The supporting cast includes comedian

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

as an patient in a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...

. McEvoy based the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

on the adventures of his father as a

toupée A toupée ( ) is a hairpiece or partial wig of natural or synthetic hair worn to cover partial baldness or for theatrical purposes. While toupées and hairpieces are typically associated with male wearers, some women also use hairpieces to leng ...

peddler to both sides in the midst of the conflict. The movie was shot on location in both Belfast and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Plot

Colm takes a job as a barber in a Belfast psychiatric hospital. He meets the staff and is warned against talking about poetry with George, a fellow barber. When he brings it up, George subjects him to his own poor work, but the pair chat anyway. Later, they meet an orderly escorting a new patient, whom he refers to as "The Scalper", described as the only seller of hair pieces in all of

until he had a nervous breakdown and scalped some of his own customers. Colm and George decide to meet with the Scalper to gain his list of customers; they intend to take over his former hairpiece monopoly. The Scalper agrees to give them the list. Colm and George, calling themselves "The Piece People", embark on their plan to get rich. Colm's girlfriend Bronagh helps. She sets up their first appointment with a Mr Black, who eventually agrees to buy a hairpiece, although he denies having been a customer of "The Scalper". Bronagh had seen his picture in the newspaper (featured after he shot a Catholic) and, as he was bald, thought he'd be a good prospect. Having little success in sales, Colm and George discover they have competition from "Toupée or not Toupée", rivals who also acquired the client list. The supplier, "Wigs Of Wimbledon", decides to hold a meeting with two companies to inform them that the one who sells the most in a given time period will win an exclusive rights for all of Northern Ireland. The partners visit a farmer but lose the sale, learning that their competitors are underselling them. On a remote road, they are stopped by members of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

(IRA), demanding to know what they are up to. This confrontation results in the partners selling a wig to the lead IRA man, who fails to notice it had been chewed by dogs. The competition is raging, but the IRA man accidentally leaves the unique wig at the scene of a bombing. The

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Roya ...

(RUC) trace it to The Piece People. After being interrogated, George and Colm have a falling-out. Meanwhile, the IRA man who lost the wig tracks Colm down and demands Colm sell him his whole inventory because now every bald Catholic in Northern Ireland is a potential suspect for the police. Colm refuses as his business partner is a Protestant and thinks it would be unethical to protect the IRA because the sales would likely help The Piece People win the exclusive deal with Wigs Of Wimbledon. Colm goes to a poetry reading by George, and the two make peace. With the help of Bronagh, the duo learn that many British Army soldiers in Northern Ireland are suffering from

alopecia Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scar ...

(hair loss) due to the stressful conditions, and secure a government contract to supply wigs to all soldiers who want them. With this, they win the competition and gain the rights to Northern Ireland.

Cast

as Colm * Brían F. O'Byrne as George *

Anna Friel Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, she has been acting professionally since age 13. Friel achieved fame with her portrayal of Beth Jordache on the British soap opera '' Brookside'' ...

as Bronagh *

Pauline McLynn Pauline McLynn (born 11 July 1962) is an Irish character actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Mrs Doyle in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Father Ted'', Libby Croker in the Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'', Tip Haddem in the BBC ...

as Gerty *

Laurence Kinlan Laurence Kinlan (born 3 February 1983) is an Irish actor in films, television series and on theatre stage. He is best known for playing the role of Elmo in RTÉ's crime drama '' Love/Hate''. Career Film and television Kinlan's debut was a lead ...

as Mickey *

as Scalper *

Enda Oates Enda Oates (born 1962), occasionally credited as Enda Oats, is an Irish stage, film, and television actor. He has received attention for his stagework, but is best known to Irish television audiences as the Reverend George Black in the long-ru ...

as Detective

Lawsuit against DreamWorks

In 2001, one of the film's producers, Jerome O'Connor, filed a $10 million lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan against

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

's studio DreamWorks, the film's distributor. He complained that, although his film had received favorable reviews, the studio had reduced distribution from a projected 800 to eight theaters in the United States, and then pulled it from distribution. O'Connor alleged the film was "sabotaged" because director

would not change scenes to please British officials in its Foreign Office, which objected to its "sympathetic portrayal" of the IRA. O'Connor claimed DreamWorks officials feared the film might interfere with

's attaining an honorary knighthood (which Spielberg received in January 2001). O'Connor argued that then Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

had arranged for a loan of military equipment and 2,000 troops to Spielberg's production of ''

Band of Brothers (TV miniseries) ''Band of Brothers'' is a 2001 American war drama miniseries based on historian Stephen E. Ambrose's 1992 non-fiction book of the same name. It was created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who also served as executive producers, and who had c ...

'', which aired in 2001 on HBO, and that Spielberg gave Blair's son Euan a job in the production, indicating a quid pro quo. A DreamWorks spokesman said the studio had not requested any film cuts. ''An Everlasting Piece'' was released on DVD, and the film, which had a $14,000,000 budget, earned $75,228. A decade after filing his lawsuit, a New York judge dismissed it in February 2011. O'Connor's counsel reserved the right to file an appeal, but ultimately did not file one.

Reception

''An Everlasting Piece'' received mixed reviews from critics and holds a 48% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 43 reviews. The site's consensus states: "This comedy is too slight to leave an impression, and its attempts at whimsy are not as funny as they could have been."

References

External links

* *
DVD Verdict: ''An Everlasting Piece''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Everlasting Piece 2000 films 2000 comedy films American comedy films Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Films set in Belfast Films set in Northern Ireland Films directed by Barry Levinson Films scored by Hans Zimmer DreamWorks Pictures films Columbia Pictures films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films