Bernard MacLaverty’s wrote the screenplay for the 1985 adaptation of his novel Lamb. The film starred Liam Neeson as Michael Lamb and Hugh O’Conor as Owen Kane.
The film begins in a Home for boys run by christian brothers. One of the youngest brothers, Brother Sebastian who real name is Michael Lamb, is horrified by the violence and forms an attachment to one of the boys there. When he inherits a small amount of money, Michael Lamb leaves, taking with him 10-year-old Owen Kane. Michael and Owen pose as father and son until the money—and time as Michael Lamb is being pursued for kidnapping Owen—runs out.