BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY | That Ed Burns was showing his latest movie at the Tribeca Festival in Lower Manhattan two months ago was no surprise. After all, the New York City native has been a regular at that annual event since its founding in 2002, having presented one of his pictures there on eight previous occasions.
What was unusual, however, was the subject matter, which was golf. And basing the 122-minute film – titled “Finnegan’s Foursome” – on the game reflected a newfound passion Burns has developed for golf as he examined the sorts of relations among family members that have been a hallmark of his work since the now 58-year-old burst onto the scene more than three decades ago, quickly becoming regarded as among the most talented independent filmmakers in the business as well as one of the really good guys in movies.
I certainly acquired a sense of his gusto for golf as well as his engaging personality while with him at Tribeca, where “Finnegan’s” made its world premiere, and a few weeks later during a round at the Bayonne Golf Club. And I also came to better appreciate his remarkable rise in the industry as well as how “Finnegan’s” came to be as we walked across the rolling terrain of the modern links together.
“Finnegan’s” is about a clan reconnecting over rounds of golf and pints of Guinness after the death of a loved one. The course scenes in Ireland, especially those of the rugged Carne links hard on the Atlantic coast, make one pine for that part of the world. And it is easy to feel the conviviality of the pub the foursome retires to after their games, with local musicians playing soulful ballads on their guitars and fiddles as the golfers sip their dark drafts. The banter and betting that are such essential parts of the sport, both on and off the course, feel true to form, and so do the ways the game eventually makes the characters appreciate that while the man they are mourning had been somewhat absent as a father and grandfather, he was present enough to endow his progeny with a love for golf.
The film also happens to be among Burns’ best creations.
“I love making the smaller films. I like the independence that comes with doing it that way. I see myself as the equivalent of the guy who plays a solo gig at the Beacon Theater as opposed to being part of a band selling out Met Life Stadium.” –Edward Burns