Review

This quirky comedy-drama is set in Northern Ireland during the middle of July, when the Protestants celebrate their national pride. Director Leigh deftly interweaves the lives of two couples, one Protestant and the other Catholic, and both expecting their first child. In his typical cinema verité manner, Leigh gently exposes the nuances of these disparate elements of Ulster society employing only simple living room conversation and other trivial daily chores -- it is a quietly evocative exposé on a territory torn by strife.