''The Tiger's Tail'' is a 2006 Irish film written and directed by
John Boorman and starring
Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor. He has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, two British Independent Film Awards and three IFTA Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Aw ...
and
Kim Cattrall
Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British, Canadian, and American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominati ...
. The story focuses on the modern
Celtic Tiger
The "Celtic Tiger" () is a term referring to the economy of the Republic of Ireland, economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. The boom was dampened by ...
Irish economy of the late 20th century. The film premiered at the 2006
San Sebastián Film Festival.
Plot
Liam O'Leary (Gleeson) is a successful
real estate developer
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...
in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. He lives in a magnificent house with his unhappy wife (Cattrall) and rebellious son. One day, his pleasant life takes a dramatic downturn. The city council turns down his request to build a stadium, toward which he has taken out cripplingly large bank loans, and a
doppelgänger
A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart.
In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...
, with his identical body and facial features, begins appearing around town, ordering suits and automobiles on Liam's credit account and behaving in a scandalous manner. Liam desperately attempts to pull his life out of its tailspin, but he must return to his dirtpoor roots and the old friends he has long abandoned to find the answers.
Characters
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Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor. He has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, two British Independent Film Awards and three IFTA Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Aw ...
as Liam O'Leary
*
Kim Cattrall
Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British, Canadian, and American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominati ...
as Jane O'Leary
*
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds ( ; born 9 February 1953) is a British Northern Irish actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. 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 Love ...
as Father Andy
*
Sinéad Cusack
Sinéad Moira Cusack ( ; born 18 February 1948) is an Irish actress. Her first acting roles were at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, before moving to London in 1969 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has won the Critics' Circle and ''Eve ...
as Oona O'Leary
*
Sean McGinley as Declan Murray
*
Angeline Ball as Ursula
*
Cathy Belton as Sally
References
External links
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2006 films
Irish drama films
Films directed by John Boorman
Films set in Dublin (city)
2000s mystery films
Irish thriller films
Irish mystery films
2000s mystery thriller films
2006 thriller films
Films about con artists
Films about identity theft
2006 drama films
2000s English-language films
Films scored by Stephen McKeon
English-language mystery thriller films
2000s Irish films
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