All Saints Day Movie Review

“All Saints Day” is more than a religious holiday; it is a glimpse into a fractured family. These folks have never found a way to put the ‘fun’ into dysfunctional. So, they remain broken and bitter. They have no way to see each other as Saints — only Aint’s…

The Connolly clan is sad-sack group of Irish Catholics located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Boston. The father had died in a bar brawl, and soon afterwards, the mother had abandoned the family. The oldest boy raised the rest of brood the best that he could.

But there were four boys and one girl, and years ago the eldest boy put the young girl up for adoption. In the present day, the rest of the group has split up. One moved to New England, and one to California. Kier Connolly (played by Don Swayze), who is the oldest, was badly hurt in a work accident.

The youngest son is Ronan Connolly (played by Jeff Berg), and he still lives close by. He is very worried that Kier is slowly killing himself with his constant smoking and drinking. Kier lives with nobody else, but he is never alone. He is always haunted by the ghosts of his parents.

Ronan is also a heavy drinker, and he parties with an older man named ‘The Captain’ (played by Lenny Clarke). Ronan is not known by that name by ‘The Captain’, instead he calls Ronan ‘Sonny’. They hang out at a bar often, but sometimes they drink too much. They get cut off and sent away by the barmaid – Maria. Kier never goes out to drink, he and his hallucinations just stay at home.

Kier begins to get really sick, more than usual. Since he is unable to work, he is always depressed and lonely. Ronan wants to help, so he contacts his other brother. Mickey Connolly (played by Chad Doreck) is a pastor in California, and he comes back home to help Ronan.

At one point, Mickey was a Catholic priest in the local church. But he claims that he ‘parted ways’ with the Diocese. He says it was because he turned in other bad priests doing bad things. But part of the untold story was Mickey was not all that innocent.

Kier lives in a very shabby apartment in the neighborhood. He has not cleaned up anything in ages. Ronan has put up with that for years, but when Mickey gets there — he gets even more upset. He has come from his Protestant church in California. He has been a ‘man of cloth’ over on the West Coast.  Mickey and Ronan are about to confront Kier about his future.

Mickey has done some digging into the past records. He has found and contacted their sister, who was adopted out from the family many years ago. Fiona Connolly (played by Aly Trasher) comes to apartment to join with her brothers to persuade Kier to get into rehab. The one other brother is not coming with them.

Kier is not ready to give up his lazy life of drinking and smoking and being not much more than a bum. It will take a huge effort on the part of Ronan, Mickey and Maria — opps! There is another conflict here now. Now, the younger sister is named Maria. The brothers only know here as Fiona.

But this is the same ‘Maria’ who is the barmaid at the local bar. This is the same one who has tossed out ‘The Captain’ and Ronan many times. It is the same ‘Maria’ who has gone on many dates with ‘Sonny’. As ‘Sonny’, the best friend of ‘The Captain’, he never knew that the ‘Maria’ he was dating was his grown-up sister! Wait – did Ronan and Fiona know each other — in a Biblical sense?

But before the Thunder and Lightning comes down from the Heavens, the siblings need to face the future of Kier. He is getting very delusional, mostly from his drinking. But Kier does not want to change his life, and to give up his liquor. Maybe he can cut down on the smokes — but this man needs his hooch.

Now that is a FUBAR of a family, all of them with deep resentments and distrust. One of the brothers couldn’t be bothered to travel over to try and help. Mickey has been kicked out of the Church and has had to leave to the other coast to find someplace to work. Ronan is stuck in a dead-end job with a few friends that only want to drink to excess. Fiona/Maria is shocked to become part of this bizarre family – again.

The Connolly clan is messed-up and miserable. But the only thing that hold them together is a common concern for the oldest — Kier. It is up to him to take a step to sobriety and start his life anew. But what weird outcome could happen for this odd little group? I guess only the Saints can tell…

Available now on PVOD streaming

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“All Saints Day” is a compact family drama with a small but powerful cast. The story is really good at getting people into the worst situations and letting them stew in there for a while. It plays on the common ideas of alcoholic families and the private torture they face everyday.

The lead actor would be considered Don Swayze (Kier) who has a pretty famous brother – Patrick. The resemblance is very distinct, but Don has a similar screen presence. His portrayal as Kier can be a heart-breaking display of a ruined man. It is very tragic.

All the other actors also carry the roles they have with a lot of grounded, realistic work. each of these performances from Jeff Berg, Chad Doreck, and Aly Trasher are true and honest. The all work well as an ensemble in this movie.

Since this is an adaptation of the play (“All Saints in the Old Colony”), it does have a very closed-in feeling to it. Almost the entire movie happens in the one apartment of Kier. There are a few other locations shown, but that main dingy setting gives a messy gloom over the whole thing.

“All Saints Day” is a small throwback of a movie to the past, where the solid acting skills and writing are more important than any glitz or amount of shine. These ‘Saints’ are marching in.