Synopsis
Robin Wright is Tara. Not only is she the most beautiful woman in her small village, she isalso a single mother, which means some tough sledding in the Ireland of 1957. She is turned onand persecuted by the community, even as the men lust after her. Constable Albert Finney isparticularly obsessed with winning her, and he doesn’t take it well at all when she falls for AidanQuinn, who arrives with an itinerant band of actors.
There are plenty of serious topics being d…alt with here, not least among them beingobsession and social repression. What is therefore surprising and praiseworthy on the part of thefilm is that, even while it never trivializes these themes, it maintains a real sense of humour, onethat flows naturally from the characters. A delicate balancing act, but an impressive one.
Audio
The audio is 2.0, which entails certain limitations, though it is a very active 2.0. In somerespects, it is too active, and this is particularly the case with the music, which is too rear-heavy.Still, the score doesn’t drown out the clear, undistorted dialogue. The surround effects are nicelydone, with the sounds of rain falling or of buzzing flies (for example) enveloping the viewermost effectively.
Video
Nice colours, with all the green lushness one might expect from the setting (not all clichésare overturned). There is, unfortunately, a fair bit of grain. The opening is especially bad, and it isas if a grainy film had dropped over the camera lens. Clarity improves after the credits, but thegrain keeps returning, most notably in some of the blacks. The image is decent, but could be a bitsharper, and there is a noticeable loss of definition in the long shots.
Special Features
The theatrical trailer and that’s it.
Closing Thoughts
Picture and sound are acceptable, but unexceptional, and the extras are essentially nil. Goodmovie, though.
Special Features List
- Theatrical Trailer
