casting

After reading many, many viewer reviews, I was pleased to see how many people agree with me that Julia Roberts was horribly miscast as "Kitty". She is so wooden, one-dimensional, and clueless as to Irish accent.
On the positive side...no one, but NO one could have portrayed Collins better than Liam Neeson. He was made for it. Alan Rickman has Irish blood, although known as a British actor. His resemblance to deValera and his unique voice make him ideal for the role. He pays attention to his details, such as the scene in the bicycle shop (toying with the bicycle wheel), his slow, studied speech and reading, and hissudden humour in the Lincoln Prison scene. Marvelous. Stephen Rea as the doomed Ned Broy brings his subdued charm, working for Dublin Castle but aligned with the IRB, later to become the IRA. Aidan Quinn and his astonishing eyes are a good contrast to Neeson, however, his accent should have been better, as his parents are from Birr! A shame to see the always-fine Sean McGinley as a villain. Finally, Charles Dance is perfect as Soames, simply radiating hatred from his hooded, arctic-blue glare.
I've watched the film countless times, almost always picking up new details or understanding concepts better than before. 10 out of ten!