Gabriel Byrne stars as Samuel O’Shea, an aging poetry professor and ladies’ man who finds himself adrift, first by discovering his much younger wife in their bed with her lover, and then by the diagnosis of a terminal brain tumor. The wife’s infidelity is a bit of a shock, even if they both know he’s guilty of the same thing. But the tumor had been trying to get his attention for a while with a series of confusing though entertaining hallucinations – meeting Frankenstein at a bar, witnessing a group of strangers suddenly break into a Leonard Cohen song, and recent visits from his dead father (Brian Gleeson). The diagnosis explains his visions, but they persist.
Hoping to get away from it all, Samuel takes a trip back to the old country, to his family’s fishing cabin somewhere on the desolate coast of Ireland. He plans to write the book he’s been putting off for decades in the quiet isolation. But of course he meets a woman, the beautiful shopkeeper Charlotte (Jessica Paré).
But soon he’s pulled home by more pressing matters to deal with his gay son and drug addicted daughter one last time. And to finish the book he was meant to write before he dies.
Gabriel Byrne is the perfect actor for this story. He’s got that world weary feel, but still has the looks that allow him to believe he’s a bonafide ladies’ man. He’s immanently watchable, which is good since the plot is kind of wobbly, what with the hallucinations and all. It all boils down to a slim story of a man who hasn’t always made the best life choices looking back and wandering drunkenly off the stage.
The film shares its name with a Leonard Cohen album that makes up the majority of its soundtrack. Sadly, it isn’t one of Cohen’s more memorable records. Death of a Ladies’ Man was released in 2021 and is just now coming to streaming services here. It is a forgettable film, but if you’re a Gabriel Byrne fan, it might be a good streamer for a rainy day, with a nice bottle of your favorite alcohol. Or tea.