Tone-wise, Evelyn is all over the place. There are times when it is brisk and lively, even rather amusing; other times when you just cringe at how syrupy and overdone it is.

A sprightly pace and a fatalistic sense of humor propel the proceedings over a generous amount of drinking jokes and other cliches of Irish life and culture.

Instead of the clear-headed resolve the material demands, Beresford's film offers slush, blarney and grandstanding actors ...

For every good decision the film makes, a few mushy, conspicuously crowd-pleasing, or manipulatively suspenseful narrative choices edge in on the entertainment value.