--- title: "The Snapper" year: 1993 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-snapper" fi1m_id: "the-snapper" imdb_id: "tt0108170" tmdb_id: 12664 wikidata_id: "Q1718298" fi1m_score: 82 critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 8 published: "2026-09-13" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:16.717248+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Snapper (1993) Directed by Stephen Frears · 1h 35m · MPA R · Comedy, Drama ## Identity The Snapper - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-snapper - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-snapper - **IMDb ID:** tt0108170 - **TMDB ID:** 12664 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1718298 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108170/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/12664, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1718298 **Fi1m score: 82** · Critics 79 from 8 reviews *In a sentence:* The Curleys could make a family crisis last all evening just by discussing it, and we would stay for the conversation > Colm Meaney gives Stephen Frears’s family comedy its warmth and much of its bite. Roddy Doyle’s writing makes the household worth spending time with, though its generosity sometimes lets the family off too lightly. ## Synopsis Sharon Curley (Tina Kellegher) has a secret and some explaining to do. Around her is the Curley household, including Dessie (Colm Meaney), Kay (Ruth McCabe), Craig (Eanna MacLiam), Sonny (Peter Rowen) and Lisa (Joanne Gerrard). Set in working-class Dublin, the comedy follows family conversations and barroom talk, with Dessie struggling to reconcile conflicting feelings. Domestic troubles give everyone something to discuss, as affection sits alongside exasperation. Stephen Frears directs from Roddy Doyle’s screenplay, adapted from Doyle’s novel. ## Review Stephen Frears’s *The Snapper* is a funny, warm family comedy with one substantial reservation: it is sometimes too ready to forgive the people it understands. Roddy Doyle adapts his own novel, and the family exchanges and barroom conversations give him plenty of opportunities to enjoy the way people talk. Frears lets that enjoyment carry the film. The Curleys do not need to be exceptional to hold our attention. Their troubles matter because the writing takes their feelings seriously, even when they are being ridiculous. Colm Meaney’s Dessie Curley is the chief reason this works. He makes an exasperated father funny without making fatherhood itself seem foolish, and allows affection to complicate the irritation. We laughed at Dessie’s exasperation with his family, then found ourselves feeling protective of him. Meaney lets us recognise the effort of a man trying to manage feelings he cannot comfortably reconcile; the laughter never requires us to think him stupid. Tina Kellegher, as Sharon, and Ruth McCabe, as Kay, give the Curley household life beyond Dessie’s troubles. The ensemble scenes are pleasurable because the people in them retain their own concerns. Nobody needs to stand outside the family and explain its appeal. Yet Meaney’s prominence also makes us notice how readily the film understands its father, and how much less closely it examines what is expected of its women. Oliver Stapleton’s cinematography is well judged for this material: the family scenes hold our attention on the people and their responses. Mark Geraghty’s production design gives the household a convincing ordinariness, which is essential to the comedy. We have to believe in the place before we can enjoy hearing everyone discuss its private business. The visual work supports that belief without asking us to admire the surroundings, and the lack of fuss suits Frears’s attention to the actors. Mick Audsley’s editing gives the talk enough space to be enjoyable in itself, and the barroom conversations never feel like mere delays between important events. At 95 minutes, this is a film with time for company but little appetite for making a ceremony of it. Stanley Myers’s music adds to the warmth, although the performances have already done most of that work. The rhythm is relaxed enough to let affection register without draining the comedy of its bluntness. The reservation concerns the limits of that kindness. Doyle and Frears show more interest in getting us to love the household than in examining the pressures around it, particularly religion and the unequal demands placed on women. A comedy need not stop for a sociological lecture. It does, however, lose something when family affection makes difficult questions seem adequately dealt with. The Curleys are believable company, but the film can be reluctant to let our enjoyment of them become uncomfortable for long. Family comedies often ask us to accept warmth simply because the characters share a surname; here Doyle’s writing and the actors’ attention to one another earn it. Frears also allows distress to remain part of the comedy, which keeps the good humour from becoming exhausting. Watch it for Meaney, and leave enough quiet to hear the rest of the family. *Fi1m score 82, published 13 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are uniformly warm. Most critics take The Snapper as a welcome return to the Dublin of The Commitments, and the praise settles in two places: Roddy Doyle’s script, with its quick, caustic but never cruel jokes and its love of talk, and Colm Meaney’s performance as the exasperated, resilient father. Several critics call it a small, joyful film that shows what situation comedy can still do when care is taken, and admire the way it balances laughter against real distress. Reservations are few and the spread is narrow, from good to warmly recommended. Time Out notes the film is tougher and more downbeat than The Commitments, though it finds the ending deeply affecting. The Independent, while enjoying it, thinks the film sidesteps harder social realities such as religion and the imbalance between the sexes. Empire remarks that the Curley household is realistic yet idealised. Nobody dislikes it; the only question is how much to warm to it. ## Straight answers **Is The Snapper worth watching?** *The Snapper* is worth watching for anyone who enjoys a family comedy built on talk rather than incident, and we scored it 82. Colm Meaney's Dessie Curley is the chief reason: funny, exasperated and never made to look foolish. Our reservation is that the film forgives the household a little too readily, especially over what it asks of its women. **How long is The Snapper, and what is it rated?** *The Snapper* runs 1h 35m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and drama film. **Where can I watch The Snapper in the US?** *The Snapper* is streaming on Pluto TV in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is The Snapper, and is it suitable for children?** *The Snapper* is a 15 in the UK for its frank talk about an unplanned pregnancy and the family arguments that follow, not for violence, which the review does not mention. There is nothing frightening in it, but the subject and the barroom language make it a film for older teenagers and adults rather than children. **How does The Snapper compare to The Commitments?** *The Snapper* is the quieter and more domestic of the two Roddy Doyle adaptations, built on kitchen and pub conversation where [*The Commitments*](https://film.one/film/the-commitments) is carried by its songs and a larger, rowdier company. Both are warm and funny; the earlier film has more polish and more energy, the later one the better single performance in Colm Meaney. Choose by mood: music or family. **Is The Snapper based on a true story or a book?** *The Snapper* is based on Roddy Doyle's novel of the same name, and Doyle wrote the screenplay himself, so the film keeps his ear for the way a Dublin family talks. It is not a true story. You do not need to have read the book; the film explains everything the Curleys need explaining, mostly by having them argue about it. **What should I watch after The Snapper?** After *The Snapper*, try [*The Commitments*](https://film.one/film/the-commitments) (1991, Fi1m 82): More Roddy Doyle, with the same appetite for argument and unreliable men. Then [*Secrets & Lies*](https://film.one/film/secrets-and-lies) (1996, Fi1m 88): Another family gathering where private troubles become everybody’s business, with painful consequences; and [*Monsoon Wedding*](https://film.one/film/monsoon-wedding) (2001, Fi1m 80): A crowded family gathering where celebration cannot quite keep difficult truths outside. ### Reviews we read (8) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (85/100, inferred): The Snapper is amiability itself, good-humored and sassy with a realistic balance between humor and distress. It thrives on fine writing and empathetic acting, especially Colm Meaney as the exasperated but resilient father. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-12-03-ca-63353-story.html) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (85/100, inferred): The film is a very funny comedy about tight-knit Irish working-class life and the joy of talk. It earns its laughs through wise, warm portrayals of believable characters and human foibles. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-snapper-1993) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (85/100, inferred): The critic finds this return to the Dublin of The Commitments every bit as welcome as the earlier film. It becomes a headlong tumble into good humor with caustic but never cruel firecracker jokes from the Roddy Doyle script. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-snapper) - **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (80/100, inferred): Frears has made a small, joyful lark of a film that rediscovers the essence of situation comedy. It shows there are still wonderful comedies to be made when care is taken and attention is paid. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/08/movies/review-film-festival-pregnant-unmarried-and-smiling.html) - **Time Out**, GA (80/100, inferred): This adaptation of Roddy Doyle's novel has wit, feeling and authenticity despite being tougher and more downbeat than The Commitments. Colm Meaney shines as the dad torn by conflicting emotions, and the film's resolution is deeply affecting. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-snapper) - **Variety**, Derek Elley (75/100, inferred): Frears' film is a lively, likable slice of Dublin working-class comedy with plenty of unvarnished Irish humor and real warmth. It concentrates on character comedy in the ensemble scenes of family life and boozy barroom chat. [Read](https://variety.com/1993/film/reviews/the-snapper-1200432051/) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (70/100, inferred): The review praises the semi-comic approach to family life and ordinary people doing the right thing, highlighting the realistic yet idealised portrayal of the Curley household and Colm Meaney's performance. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/snapper-review/) - **The Independent** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film funny and entertaining with strong performances, celebrating family warmth and life in working-class Ireland, but notes it sidesteps deeper social realities like religion and gender imbalances. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-power-and-the-pint-pop-culture-plays-its-tune-in-ireland-in-the-snapper-while-tom-and-jerry-break-all-the-rules-1459442.html) ## Details - **Director:** Stephen Frears - **Director:** Stephen Frears - **Screenplay:** Roddy Doyle - **Novel:** Roddy Doyle - **Cinematography:** Oliver Stapleton - **Editor:** Mick Audsley - **Music:** Stanley Myers - **Production design:** Mark Geraghty - **Costume design:** Consolata Boyle - **Producer:** Lynda Myles - **Cast:** Colm Meaney as Dessie Curley; Tina Kellegher as Sharon Curley; Ruth McCabe as Kay Curley; Eanna MacLiam as Craig Curley; Peter Rowen as Sonny Curley; Joanne Gerrard as Lisa Curley; Colm O'Byrne as Darren Curley; Ciara Duffy as Kimberley Curley - **Runtime:** 1h 35m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 24 November 1993 - **Genres:** Comedy, Drama - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo-noHGCgJQ ## Where to watch in the US - Pluto TV: free - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $12.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-13.* Also available in: CA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Goya Award for Best European Film 1995: Goya Award for Best European Film (won) ## If you liked this - *The Commitments* (1991), Fi1m 82: More Roddy Doyle, with the same appetite for argument and unreliable men — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-commitments.md) - *Secrets & Lies* (1996), Fi1m 88: Another family gathering where private troubles become everybody’s business, with painful consequences — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/secrets-and-lies.md) - *Good Morning* (1959): Domestic disagreements and neighbourhood gossip, handled with patience and an affection for stubbornness - *Monsoon Wedding* (2001), Fi1m 80: A crowded family gathering where celebration cannot quite keep difficult truths outside — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/monsoon-wedding.md) - *East Is East* (1999), Fi1m 74: A louder, harsher household comedy about affection, authority and children demanding room — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/east-is-east.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-snapper