An Everlasting Piece (R, 2002)

Colm (Barry McEvoy), a Catholic, and George (Brian F. O'Byrne), a Protestant, are barbers in a prison for the insane. They to start their own business making and selling toupees throughout war-torn Northern Ireland, and soon have competition. A frantic race to sell 30 hair pieces follows.

George and Colm are different in more ways than their religious affiliations. George is a poet and unsure of himself. Colm is a confident salesman. The fact that they can maintain a friendship in spite of their differences underscores what AN EVERLASTING PIECE is all about -- making peace. The movie exposes the human side of all involved in the Protestant-Catholic conflict. In one scene, Colm and George pull over on a country road to look at a map, and are confronted by a group of threatening IRA soldiers. When the balding IRA leader opens the trunk and finds the toupees, he confesses how his wife wants him to get one.

Viewers get an equally tender look at the young English soldiers. Due to their stressful occupation, their hair is falling out. Although the Irish see them as oppressors, Colm is willing to sell them hairpieces as a gesture of peace. Whether Protestant, Catholic, or English, baldness is common to all. The message that they share similar problems is poignant, and the way the message is delivered is both touching and funny. Although the situations are contrived, such as police finding the IRA leader's wig at a crime scene and tracing it back to Colm and George, or the mental patient finding the wig in the ocean after it was accidentally flushed down the toilet by police, viewers understand the tongue-in-cheek humor and are willing to go along for the ride.