Irish Film Institute -International Film Directory – Film Listing

Bloom

    • Director

      Sean Walsh

    • Credits

      Producer: Sean Walsh. Writers: Sean Walsh, James Joyce

    • Principal Cast

      Stephen Rea, Angeline Ball, Hugh O'Conor

  • Category

    Feature
    Literature

A vivid adaptation of Joyce’s celebrated Ulysses, Bloom is a rich costume drama about Leopold Bloom (Stephen Rea), his ribald wife, Molly (Angeline Ball), and the young intellectual Stephen Dedalus (Hugh O’Conor) going about their daily business. In a bold move, director Sean Walsh breaks up the order of Joyce’s narrative, rearranging events – such as Molly’s famous closing soliloquy – to create a more accessible narrative than that of the novel. Characters have breakfast, attend a funeral and discuss literature, with Bloom and Stephen’s paths slowly converging as the film builds to a surrealist climax. For all his bold deviations from his source, director Sean Walsh holds firm to Joyce’s celebrating of the ordinary, with earthy sexuality central in this playful and creative retelling.

Awards:
Best Actress (Angeline Ball) in a Film Award at the 1st Irish Film and Television Awards 2003

113 minutes, Ireland, 2003, Colour


The IFI is supported
by The Arts Council

Arts Council of Ireland