''Mickybo and Me'' is a 2004 Northern Irish

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film written and directed by Terry Loane and based on the stage play ''Mojo Mickybo'' by

Owen McCafferty Owen McCafferty (born 1961) is a playwright from Northern Ireland. Early life Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, McCafferty in 1961 he was brought up in London from the age of 1 until aged 10 when his parents returned to Belfast. He was educat ...

. The film was produced by

Working Title Films Working Title Films is a British film studio that produces motion pictures and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by Tim Be ...

and released by

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Plot

An eight and a nine-year-old boy living in

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 ...

during

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

, one Catholic, one Protestant, become friends. They are obsessed with the film ''

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' is a 1969 American Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch C ...

'' and dream of robbing banks and emigrating to Australia. Although the boys are from completely different backgrounds, they bond quickly. After watching the film together, they take on the characters' personas. Later, believing that they will get blamed for an old man's death, they go 'on the run,' trying to escape to Australia. Their journey towards the ferry (which they believe will carry them to Australia) is a series of misadventures, including a 'bank robbery', riding a horse/ponies, a fire in a stable, escape from a police car. Once re-apprehended by the police, they did discover they had crossed the Irish border. Upon their return, one of the boy's fathers is killed in a sectarian-related shooting, driving a wedge between them. In the closing scene, 30 years later, Mickeybo opens a large envelope from Jonjo, which contains the toy sheriff's star and a photo of him with his family living in Australia

Cast

* John Joe McNeill as Michael "Mickybo" Boyle *

Niall Wright Niall Wright (born 26 July 1991) is an actor born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He trained as a child at the Gwyneth Murdock School of Drama and studied professionally at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He also studied a business degree at U ...

as John "Jonjo" Wright *

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...

as Mickybo's ma *

Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds (; born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989), '' Persuasion'' (1 ...

as Jonjo's da * Adrian Dunbar as Mickybo's da *

Gina McKee Georgina "Gina" McKee (born 14 April 1964) is an English actress. She won the 1997 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for '' Our Friends in the North'' (1996), and earned subsequent nominations for '' The Lost Prince'' (2003) and '' The Street'' ...

as Jonjo's ma * Brendan Caskey as "Gank" * Charlie Clarke as "Fartface" *

Michael McElhatton Michael McElhatton (born 12 September 1963) is an Irish actor and writer. He is best known for playing the role of Roose Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He joined the series as a guest star in the Game of Thrones (season 2), sec ...

as the Mechanic

Release

* Irish Film Festival of New Zealand * Edinburgh International Film Festival, 2004 Ireland: Nationwide Cinema Release April 2005

Awards

;Wins • Best Irish Film in Big Buzz Ireland Entertainment Awards 2005.
• Best Feature Film in the Boston Irish Film Festival 2005.
• Audience Award at the Schlingel International Children's Film Festival, Chemnitz, 2005.
• The CIFEJ Award for Best Film & Children's Jury Award for Best Film in the OULU International Film Festival 2005.
• Best Children's Film, Tiburon International Film Festival, USA, 2006.
• Grand Prix (International Jury) and Grand Prix (Children's Jury), Buster Film Festival, Copenhagen 2006.
• Best Director, Olympia International Youth Film Festival, 2006.
• Best Film, Olympia International Youth Film Festival, 2006.
• Audience Award - Best Film at the Titanic International Film Festival, Budapest 2007.
• Best Costume Design, Irish Film and Television Awards 2005 ;Nominations * Shortlisted for the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film, Edinburgh International Film Festival, 2004. * Best Film, Irish Film and Television Awards 2005 * Best Screenplay for Film, Irish Film and Television Awards 2005 * Breakthrough Talent, Terry Loane, Irish Film and Television Awards 2005 * Best Production Design for Film, Irish Film and Television Awards 2005 * Best Film, Austin Texas Film Festival 2005

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mickybo And Me 2004 films 2004 comedy-drama films British comedy-drama films British films based on plays Films set in 1970 Films set in Belfast Films from Northern Ireland Irish comedy-drama films StudioCanal films Working Title Films films Irish films based on plays Films scored by Stephen Warbeck 2004 comedy films 2004 drama films English-language Irish films Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) 2000s English-language films 2000s British films