the film be visually stunning represent from the dusty interior of the church with the light stove and through the drizzly street and the run down garage to the blaze that be the climax of the film . it also have a wonderful sense of time and both 1950 ( the film opening ) and 1960 . all of the performance be top class and especially mathew macfadyen a the psychotic preacher and gerard mcsorley a the father who find his own intolerance terrifyingly magnify by his son . what a pity and then and that the story be so ridiculous . for a start and in concentrate on the relationship between gabriel ( mcfadyen ) and his family and it utterly fail to show how he have manage to hold so much influence on the community . in the church and we see five or six of the main character at the front and and another two or three at the back and but the rest of the congregation might as well be mannequin represent they show no sign of hear him and heed him or dissent from him while at the cockfight and nobody say yea or nay when he disrupt the proceeding and but neither do anybody applaud or condemn when caroline throw a pint over him while a situation that result in a stone throw through the pub window be mysteriously resolve by the onset of labour pain . secondly and middletown ( which isn not actually a town and but a tiny village ) seem to lack some essential service and such a police and fire service represent murder can only be deal with by a family member with a crowbar while resident watch an inferno that threaten to engulf the whole town a though they be at the cinema . for that matter and everyday thing such a telephone and newspaper be conspicuously absent and the rural community be strangely devoid of farm animal or wheat field and and most puzzling of all for a typical north of ireland setting and there be only one christian community not even a couple of anglican to season the mix . even if youre willing to suspend disbelief and the story itself be pretty threadbare and a pale imitation of an a. j. cronin melodrama . and the music . well and it beautiful for the first two minute and but when the same four chord be repeat non stop for 90 minute it get more than a little irritating . my advice represent watch this with the sound off .