The Dawning
| The Dawning | |
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Robert Knights |
| Produced by | Sarah Lawson |
| Written by |
Jennifer Johnston (novel) Bernard MacLaverty |
| Starring |
Anthony Hopkins Rebecca Pidgeon Hugh Grant Trevor Howard Jean Simmons Adrian Dunbar |
| Music by | Simon May |
| Cinematography | Adrian Biddle |
| Edited by | Max Lemon |
| Distributed by |
TVS Television The Vista Organisation Ltd. |
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Release date
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Running time
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97 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Dawning is a 1988 British film, based on Jennifer Johnston's novel, The Old Jest which depicts the Irish War of Independence through the eyes of the Anglo-Irish landlord class. It starred Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Grant, Jean Simmons, Trevor Howard, and Rebecca Pidgeon, and was produced by Sarah Lawson, through her company Lawson Productions.
The film opens with Angus Barrie (Anthony Hopkins), an Irish Republican Army member, walking through hills, and coming to rest on a beach, where there is a little hut. Meanwhile, Nancy Gulliver (Rebecca Pidgeon) having just left school, burns all her books in happiness. It is her birthday, and her aunt (Jean Simmons) has invited over Harry (Hugh Grant), with whom she’s desperately in love, to tea. However, during the course of the film, as a result of Harry’s behaviour with another girl and the way he treats Nancy, she realises that her love for Harry was nothing more than childish infatuation.
One day, Nancy goes down to the beach, and notices that her hut has been slept in. She leaves a note requesting that it be left alone. Soon after, she is on the beach reading, when Barrie comes up to her. Over the course of the film, the two develop a relationship, despite her not really knowing and understanding his job: he is one of the first people that became part of a group named the IRA, and is on the run from the government. Nevertheless, she grows fond of Barrie, and dubs him "Cassius" ("because you have a mean and hungry look!")
After Cassius asks her to pass on a message to a colleague, several Officers of the British Army are gunned down at a horse race show. Later that day, Captain Rankin (played by Adrian Dunbar) of the Black and Tans comes to see the Family, and asks if anyone knows where Cassius is. The officers' suspicion is aroused when Nancy's grandfather (played by Trevor Howard) says he saw her talking to a man on the beach. She denies any knowledge. When they leave, she runs to the hut on the beach where Cassius was staying to tell him to flee, only to find that he has already packed. As they walk out, a light shines on them: the Black and Tans has found him. He is gunned down, much to Nancy's distress. The film ends with Nancy back at home, considerably older and wiser than when the film started.
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