This Is My Father

A sprawling mess of a family drama that tries to tell several stories (each one more irritating than the last), This Is My Father opens in the present day with a burned-out schoolteacher (James Caan) connecting his malaise to never knowing his real father. Thus begins a journey to Ireland, leading to flashbacks involving the romance between a shy farmer (Aidan Quinn) and a high-spirited 17-year-old (newcomer Moya Farrelly). With a framing story that feels like little more than a series of absurd contrivances, from the uncertainty surrounding Caan's shellshocked character to the addition of his sullen nephew (Jacob Tierney) to the impromptu Irish traveling party, every moment set in the present is a wearying bore. Although the flashbacks are an improvement, to be sure, there's so much extraneous business going on that the central romance gets lost. In fact, This is My Father wanders all over the Emerald Isle in search of a compelling theme or relationship, and never really finds one. Not recommended. (S. Renshaw)