Angel (1982 Irish film)


Angel is a 1982 Ireland film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Stephen Rea. The film was Neil Jordan's directorial debut, and the executive producer was John Boorman.

Premise

Danny, a saxophonist with a travelling band, witnesses the gangland murder of the band's manager and that of a deaf and mute girl witness at a dancehall in South Armagh. Danny tries to hunt down the murderers and in doing so his relationship with Deirdre, the singer in his band, falls apart and he becomes a murderer himself.

Cast

The film is set in Northern Ireland and it is implied that the extortionists/murderers are loyalist paramilitaries. However, there is little specific reference to the Northern Ireland Troubles.
The film was made in and around inner-city Dublin and Jordan's native Bray. In the sequences where the band play in a seaside resort Bray Head is visible in some background shots. Other locations include the former Butlin's holiday camp in Mosney, County Meath, and the former St. Brendans Hospital, Grangegorman.
The dance and crowd scenes from the Mosney ballroom had to be re-shot due to a problem with the film processing.