My Sailor, My Love

My Sailor, My Love is a movie that revolves around an autumnal romance intertwined with familial issues. Howard (James Cosmo) is a retired sailor and widower who resides in a seaside house. Howard's daughter, Grace (Catherine Walker), hires a mature female carer named Annie (Brid Brennan). As Howard and Annie develop a romantic relationship, Grace is gradually excluded, and the complexities that arise become the movie's central focus.

The movie starts lightheartedly but gradually transitions toward an increasingly thorny tone, depicting flawed and complex characters portrayed by a cast of senior actors. The performances by the actors are strong, and the dialogue is sharp realistic, and reveals the characters' emotions and motivations. Although some lines are overly dramatic, the story's contemplative nature and slow pace suit the movie's overall tone. The cinematography captures the beauty of the Irish setting, which adds to the movie's appeal.

If you enjoy slow-paced dramas with senior actors and are interested in exploring familial issues and romance, My Sailor, My Love is worth a watch.

When a retired, curmudgeonly, self-centered Irish sea captain has trouble caring for himself, his overprotective, controlling daughter hires a new housekeeper to tend to his needs, a move the fiercely independent protagonist initially resents. However, before long, the once-tentative relationship blossoms into something more substantial, a move the skipper's daughter questions and grows to resent. So how will this fundamental dilemma be resolved? That's the central question raised in director Klaus Härö's latest effort, a well-crafted, if occasionally predictable, romantic drama reminiscent of the similarly themed "Nobody Has to Know" (2021). Set against the sweeping Irish seacoast, this beautifully photographed backdrop provides the perfect stage for this heartfelt saga, one that verges on a tearjerker at times but never slides into a sappy, melodramatic, manipulative hanky fest. In large part this is due to the restrained but powerful performances of James Cosmo and Brid Brennan, who keep their characters real without becoming sentimental, histrionic caricatures. Add to this a finely polished soundtrack, and you've got a quality cinematic offering that deserves a look for a variety of reasons.

Filmed and set in Ireland, James Cosmo, in his 70s, is Howard, former sailor and now retired to his remote home. His wife, who suffered from depression, died years earlier. He lives alone and his 40-something daughter, a nurse, checks on him periodically. He doesn't seem to welcome her visits and his home is a total mess.

So the daughter hires help, a local lady to come in two days a week. She is played by 60-something Brid Brennan as Annie. At first Howard makes it clear that he'd rather her not come, but eventually he softens up when he realizes she is good company.

The adult daughter is played by Catherine Walker as Grace. She too is having personal issues and she and her husband don't always have time to communicate properly.

As the story develops we see that there are some deep family issues, plus some issues Howard is having that he fails to share. It is all plausible, elderly parents and their adult children can have difficulty with issues that represent a wedge. In fact I have five adult children and there are wedges.

My wife and I watched it at home, streaming on Amazon Prime. Not a happy or uplifting movie but suitably interesting. The acting and cinematography are excellent.

Fortunately, similar films are still being made, such as My Sailor, My Love. Movies about human relationships never become boring or bland when they are made with good heart. Like this movie.

The main story in this film is about finding love in old age. This particular part of the film is beautifully filmed, and a fairly straight-forward story, without too many complications. But there is an additional story that weaves in, the older man's difficult and partly turbulent relationship with his own daughter. If I am going to criticize something about the film, there must be a lot of unresolved issues that I was left with regarding the father-daughter relationship. Here there is much that we do not get answers to, only that the relationship has become strained and that the daughter has her own explanations for this. Without this being explored any further in the film.

Nevertheless, this film succeeds in telling a lovely story. And I have to include it; filmed in fantastic surroundings along Ireland's coast.

I have been wanting to see this movie ever since it was released. I finally rented it on Amazon Prime. Every one of the actors was brilliant. You get emotionally invested right from the beginning. It really was believable and I'm sure lots of people could relate to this story. I know I could. It's great to see a movie which isn't totally "Hollywood " if you get what I mean. Plus you get to see the beautiful scenery of Ireland. I really can't find any fault with this film. I'm not sure what else I can add, however, it seems that you now have to have a minimum amount of words? Anyway, I highly recommend this movie.