Director Mike Leigh aims his sardonic wit at the situation in Northern Ireland with this study of two expectant couples that are awaiting their impending childbirths amidst the celebration of a British national holiday. Eugene (Desmond McAleer) and Collette (Brid Brennan) are gentle Catholics living in Belfast. Eugene walks with the aid of crutches, after having been caught in the crossfire of the Irish-English political squabbles. Billy (Charles Lawson) and Lorraine (Paula Hamilton) are Protestants who support the I.R.A., to the extent that Billy himself is a soldier in the army. As the days progress, both couples wait calmly, yet excitedly, for the moment to arrive. When that happens, both men are thrust together in the same waiting room. Early the next morning, Collette and Lorraine meet while nursing their new babies. Leigh's film is less in your face than his other made-for-television dramas, choosing to explore the religious and political differences in Belfast with a subtle, bipartisan eye. It is this leisurely approach that adds humanity to each couple's life, not allowing the viewer to choose sides. In the four lead roles, McAleer, Brennan, Lawson, and Hamilton deliver highly credible performances, as is typical with the ensemble work of Leigh.