An Everlasting Piece (2000)

An Everlasting Piece Poster

Colin (Barry McEvoy) is a Catholic and George (Brian O'Byrne) is a poetry-loving Protestant. In Belfast in the 1980s, they could have been enemies, but instead they became business partners. After persuading a mad wig salesman, known as the Scalper (Billy Connolly), to sell them his leads, the two embark on a series of house calls

Film Overview
"An Everlasting Piece" is a 2000 American funny movie directed by Barry Levinson. The movie, embeded in Northern Ireland during the duration of intense political and social discontent referred to as the Troubles, skillfully uses humor to address these severe problems. The movie follows the lives of 2 barbers, Colm and George, who decide to begin offering hairpieces in a region where bald men abound due to stress-related hair loss.

Main Characters and Plot
The primary protagonists of the film are Colm, a young Catholic guy played by Barry McEvoy, and George, a middle-aged Protestant portrayed by Brian F. O'Byrne. Colm and George work in a psychiatric health center, where an encounter with the Sculley, a crazed client of the medical facility and former effective toupee salesperson, gets them into the hairpiece company.

Calling their endeavor "The Piece People", they begin building up customers and access to Sculley's customer list, which perpetuates their initial success. Meanwhile, while partaking in this eccentric side job, Colm is dating Bronagh, a nurse he fulfilled at the healthcare facility. She is uninformed about his toupee service. He ultimately tells her about it when he understands he's in love with her.

Conflict and Climax
In spite of relative early success, The Piece People deal with competition from "Toupee or not Toupee", a competing company headed by an ominous salesperson referred to as The Scalper. This character includes a layer of tension to the plot and difficulties Colm and George's entrepreneurial spirit. After a couple of hostile encounters, Colm and George have a creative idea to put The Scalper out of company: they propose a sales competitors, wagering all their stock against The Scalper's client list.

The climax of the movie comes when a regional tv station organizes a live broadcast for the final result of this unusual competitors. Despite their best shots, it seems that The Scalper will win up until the last caller turns out to be Sculley himself, who orders 6,000 toupees, ensuring a success for The Piece People.

Conclusion
"An Everlasting Piece" is an unique funny movie that deals with the Troubles in Northern Ireland in a non-traditional manner. The movie masterfully integrates a funny technique wrapped around a major historic context to tell an engaging story of two ordinary guys attempting to find success in an unusual but required market.

While the film illustrates the realities of Northern Ireland's political turbulence subtly in the background, the central story uses light-hearted escapism. Through their toupee-selling venture, the lead characters demonstrate the strength of the human spirit during difficult times. The inclusion of a cross-religion associated duo in the plot demonstrates the idea of unity in the middle of division.

Undoubtedly, "An Everlasting Piece" remains a profound commentary on a historical duration, symbolically using the toupee, an artificial cover-up, to represent the numerous 'cover-ups' and complexities widespread in Northern Ireland's history. Regardless of its non-traditional story and comical method, the movie delivers a poignant narrative on relationship, resourcefulness, and survival.

Top Cast

  • Barry McEvoy (small)
    Barry McEvoy
    Colm
  • Brían F. O'Byrne (small)
    Brían F. O'Byrne
    George
  • Anna Friel (small)
    Anna Friel
    Bronagh
  • Pauline McLynn (small)
    Pauline McLynn
    Gerty
  • Ruth McCabe (small)
    Ruth McCabe
    Mrs. O'Neill
  • Billy Connolly (small)
    Billy Connolly
    Scalper
  • Des McAleer (small)
    Des McAleer
    Mr. Black
  • Laurence Kinlan (small)
    Laurence Kinlan
    Mickey
  • Colum Convey (small)
    Colum Convey
    IRA Man
  • George Shane (small)
    George Shane
    Billy King
  • Enda Oates
    Detective