Kings on AllMovie

Adapted from the stage play The Kings of the Kilburn high Road by Jimmy Murphy, writer/director Tom Collins' incisive examination of the Irish immigrant experience stars Colm Meany, Donal O'Kelly, Brendan Conroy, Donncha Crowley, and Barry Barnes as a group of longtime friends unable to let go of the past. When their mate Jackie (Sean O' Tarpaigh) dies suddenly under a subway car, a group of old Irish friends now living in London come together to celebrate his life. Thirty years ago this crew from Connemara was young and full of hope, but these days most of them have sunken into a dire world of drink and depression. Joe (Meany) may have proven the most financially successful of the group, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he has overcome his demons- he simply chooses to indulge in expensive cocaine rather than cheap liquor. Jap (O'Kelly) and Git (Conroy) largely view the world through the bottom of a bottle, Mairtin (Barnes) is struggling to wean himself from spirits and hold on to his family, and contented vegetable vendor Shay (Crowley) has finally embraced his lowered expectations. The only one who doesn't seem steeped in nostalgia is Jackie's father Micil (Peadar O'Treasaigh) - who has recently arrived from Ireland to claim his son's body. Later, when the group heads out to the bar, the liquor flows freely and the accusations begin to fly.