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Draft:The Ulysses Project

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The Ulysses Project
Directed byTrevor Murphy
Laoisa Sexton
Written byJames Joyce
Laoisa Sexton
Based onUlysses
Produced byTrevor Murphy
Laoisa Sexton
Starring
CinematographyVarious
Edited byTrevor Murphy
Music byGavin Cowley
Production
company
Ten Thousand Hours Films
Distributed byIrish Film Institute
Release date
  • 16 June 2022 (2022-06-16) (Ireland)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryIreland
LanguageEnglish

The Ulysses Project is 2022 Irish drama film, adapted from the James Joyce novel, Ulysses. Shot entirely during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film is a modern, non-traditional re-telling of its source material, told rapidly by a succession of over 75 actors who recreate the characters encountered by Leopold Bloom on June 16th, 1904. The film attempts to maintain the rhythm of the novel's stream of consciousness within the constraints of a pandemic vernacular, as actors filmed themselves in close-up while being directed via WhatsApp. The cast includes John Turturro, Aidan Gillen, Olwen Fouéré, Shane MacGowan, Paula Meehan, and Barry Ward.[1]

Originally streamed in 2020 as a fundraiser CHiPS Soup Kitchen & Women's Shelter in Brooklyn, NY, the film later have a theatrical release in 2022 through the Irish Film Institute.[2]

Plot

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The Ulysses Project depicts the 18 episodes of its source material, each told rapid succession. The story parallels Homer's The Odyssey in both theme or structure.

Part I: The Telemachiad (Episodes 1–3)

The novel begins with Stephen Dedalus, an intellectual and aspiring writer, who is struggling with his identity and artistic ambitions. He resents his English employer, Haines, and is haunted by memories of his deceased mother. These chapters establish Stephen as the novel's "Telemachus" (Odysseus’ son in The Odyssey), searching for guidance and direction.

Part II: The Odyssey (Episodes 4–15)

The narrative shifts to Leopold Bloom, a Jewish advertising agent and the novel's Odysseus figure. As Bloom moves through Dublin—attending a funeral, working, eating lunch, and encountering various characters—he reflects on life, mortality, and his troubled marriage. His wife, Molly, is having an affair with Blazes Boylan, which torments Bloom.

Throughout the day, Bloom crosses paths with Stephen, who is aimless and intoxicated. The two finally connect in the "Circe" episode (set in a surreal, hallucinatory brothel scene), where Bloom takes on a fatherly role toward Stephen.

Part III: The Nostos (Episodes 16–18)

Bloom and Stephen leave the brothel, talk about philosophy and politics, and eventually part ways. Bloom returns home, finds evidence of Molly's affair, but ultimately resigns himself to the complexities of love and marriage.

The novel ends with Molly Bloom's famous soliloquy—a long, unpunctuated stream-of-consciousness monologue—where she reminisces about her past, her love for Bloom, and ultimately affirms life with her repeated "Yes."

Cast

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  • Susan Ateh as Molly Bloom / The Kisses / Gerty MacDowell
  • Sebastian Beacon as The Watch / Beaufoy / Haines
  • Patrick Bergin as Buck Mulligan / Leopold Bloom
  • Steve Blount as The Priest
  • Donal Brophy as Stephen Dedalus / Buck Mulligan
  • Ciaran Byrne as Mr. Deasy
  • Liam Carney as The Chemist / Leopold Bloom
  • Billy Carter as Buck Mulligan / Stephen Dedalus
  • Ewan Chung as Leopold Bloom / Narrator
  • Jarlath Conroy as Barrister JJ Molloy / The Chemist
  • Rory Corcoran as Stephen Dedalus / Narrator
  • Gina Costigan as Molly Bloom / Bella Cohen / Prostitute in Night Town
  • Graeme Coughlan as Stephen Dedalus / Leopold Bloom
  • Adrian Crowley as The Moth / The Kisses
  • Lydia Darly as Molly Bloom
  • Cécile Delepière as Mrs. Mervyn Talboys / Molly Bloom
  • Theo Dorgan as Leopold Bloom / Narrator
  • Hazel Doupe as The Nymph / The Cat / Cissy Caffrey
  • Alma Eno as Molly Bloom / Gerty
  • Hilda Fay as Molly Bloom
  • Rosmary Fine as Mrs. Bellingham / Mrs. Yelverton Barry / Molly Bloom
  • Olwen Fouéré as Molly Bloom
  • Eoin Geoghegan as Stephen Dedalus / Leopold Bloom
  • Edward Gero as Buck Mulligan
  • Vera Graziadei as Mrs. Yelverton Barry / The Kisses / Molly Bloom
  • Steve Gunn as Stephen Dedalus / Leopold Bloom
  • Frances Healy as Bella Cohen / Molly Bloom
  • Liam Heslin as Stephen Dedalus / Leopold Bloom
  • Johnny Hopkins as Stephen Dedalus / Leopold Bloom
  • Suzie Houlihan as The Sins of The Past / Prostitute in Night Town / Molly Bloom
  • John Keating as Virag / The Sins of The Past
  • Aidan Kelly as Leopold Bloom
  • Laura Knight as Molly Bloom
  • Nick Lee as Stephen Dedalus / Leopold Bloom
  • Laurence Lowry as Nosey Flynn
  • Andrew Lynch as Stephen Dedalus / Voice
  • Shane MacGowan as Self
  • Kal Mansoor as Haines / Beaufoy / Prostitute in Night Town
  • Kevin Marron as Prostitute in Night Town
  • Ian McElhinney as Mr. Deasy / Barrister JJ Molloy
  • Ciaran McGlynn as Mr. Deasy
  • Georgina McKevitt as Molly Bloom / The Wreaths / The Sluts / Gerty MacDowell
  • Paula Meehan as Gerty MacDowell / The Sluts / Molly Bloom
  • Michael Mellamphy as Leopold Bloom / Neutral Voice
  • Keshav Moodliar as Stephen Dedalus / Leopold Bloom
  • Caroline Morahan as Mrs. Bellingham / Gerty MacDowell / Molly Bloom
  • Elizabeth Moynihan as Mrs. Bellingham / Molly Bloom / Bella Cohen
  • Mary Murray as Molly Bloom
  • Helen Norton as Bella Cohen
  • Kieran O'Reilly as Stephen Dedalus / The Sluts / Leopold Bloom
  • Clara Onyemere as Milkwoman / Mrs. Tallboys / Molly Bloom
  • Derek Oppong as Buck Mulligan
  • John Pirkis as Mr. Deasy / The Sins of The Past / Leopold Bloom
  • Rachel Rath as The Kisses / The Nymph / Molly Bloom
  • Paul Reid as Stephen Dedalus / Leopold Bloom
  • Erinn Ruth as Gerty MacDowell / Molly Bloom
  • Laoisa Sexton as Mary Driscoll / Zoe Higgins / Gerty MacDowell
  • Reece Skinner as Stephen Deadalus
  • Alan Smyth as Stephen Dedalus / Leopold Bloom
  • Spider Stacy as Leopold Bloom / The Wreaths / Stephen Dedalus
  • Fiana Toibin as Mrs. Mervyn Talboys / Molly Bloom
  • Barry Ward as Leopold Bloom
  • Zoe Watkins as Mrs. Mervyn Talboys / The Sluts / Zoe Higgins / Molly Bloom
  • Sybille Wehrli as Mrs. Yelverton Barry / Molly Bloom
  • Olga Wehrly as Molly Bloom / Gerty MacDowell
  • Jenny Wills as Molly Bloom
  • Ali Zayn as Stephen Dedalus / Leopold Bloom

Release

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In 2022, The Ulysses Project was invited to screen at the 100 years of James Joyce Ulysses celebrations with a special screening at Irish Film Institute & Bloomsday Film Festival present: Ulysses 100.

In 2024, The Ulysses Project had a special Bloomsday screening at Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London, and in Ireland at Droichead Arts Centre.

References

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  1. ^ Irish Film Institute. "The Ulysses Project." Irish Film Institute. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://ifi.ie/film/the-ulysses-project/.
  2. ^ Ten Thousand Hours Films. "The Ulysses Project." Ten Thousand Hours Films. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.tenthousandhours.ie/ulysses-project.
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