Ash Wednesday (2002 film)

Ash Wednesday is a 2002 American crime drama film written, directed, and starring Edward Burns, alongside Elijah Wood and Rosario Dawson.[1] The film is set in the early 1980s in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood and tells the story of a pair of Irish-American brothers who become embroiled in a conflict with the Irish mob.

Ash Wednesday
Film poster
Directed byEdward Burns
Written byEdward Burns
Produced byEdward Burns
Margot Bridger
StarringEdward Burns
Elijah Wood
Rosario Dawson
Oliver Platt
CinematographyRussell Lee Fine
Edited byDavid Greenwald
Music byDavid Shire
Production
company
Malboro Road Gang Productions
Distributed byFocus Features
IFC Productions
Release dates
  • May 11, 2002 (2002-05-11) (Tribeca)
  • October 11, 2002 (2002-10-11)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish
Box office$2,942

Plot

Hell's Kitchen on Ash Wednesday, 1983: As rumors are flying that Francis Sullivan's (Edward Burns) younger brother Sean (Elijah Wood) who has been presumed dead for three years, has appeared out of nowhere. It was rumored that the old killers might take a second stab at Francis's and Sean's life. An upstart approaches the local mob boss, who is Francis's protector for a hit job. Sean's wife, Grace (Rosario Dawson), believed she was a widow for three years until Sean showed up again. The parish priest who was deceived initially, is feeling anxious. As enemies with guns are closing in, Francis needs to get Sean and his wife out of the city. Can Francis avoid a war between rival factions, and hold onto a new found morality?

At the end of the film, Francis helps Sean reunite with Grace and his son, Sean Jr., as they head out of the city together in the back of a van. But Francis decides to stay back to stop Moran (Oliver Platt). The film closes with Francis wiping the cross of ashes from his forehead. The final credit consists of Francis being killed by a gunshot, while stepping outside the pub as the sniper who killed him leaves the scene before the police arrives.

Cast
  • Edward Burns as Francis "Fran" Sullivan
  • Elijah Wood as Sean Sullivan
  • Rosario Dawson as Grace Quinonez
  • Oliver Platt as Moran
  • James Handy as Father Mahoney
  • Brian Burns as Mike Moran, Moran's Cousin
  • Vincent Rubino as Vinny Boombata
  • James Cummings as J.C. Moran, Moran's Brother
  • Pat McNamara as "Murph" Murphy
  • John DiResta as Pete
  • Malachy McCourt as "Whitey" Smith
  • Peter Gerety as Uncle Handy
  • Brian Delate as George "Crazy George" Cullen
  • Jimmy Burke as "Red" Kelly
  • Teresa Yenque as Mrs. Diaz
  • Julie Hale as Maggie Shea
  • Kathleen Doyle as Mrs. Flanagan
  • Marina Durell as Mrs. Quinonez
  • Michael Mulhern as Detective Pulaski
  • Michael Leydon Campbell as Jimmy Burke
  • Dara Coleman as John Coleman
  • Penny Balfour as Callie
  • Kevin Kash as Paulie "Numbers"
  • Gregg Bello as Larossa, Vinny's Brother
  • Joe Lisi as Charlie, The Wiseguy
  • Jack DeFuria as Sean "Little Sean" Sullivan Jr.

Critical reception and box office

The film holds a 25% "rotten" rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes based on an aggregate score from 16 reviews.[2] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 40 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews.[3] The film was only released in two theaters and grossed less than $3,000.

References
  1. "Ash Wednesday (2001)". BFI. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  2. Ash Wednesday at Rotten Tomatoes
  3. Ash Wednesday, retrieved 10 December 2022
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