Le cercle des amies

Having just completed the novel I decided to rent the movie. I knew that it wouldn't compare to the book, but the story was practically unrecognizable. Multi-dimensional characters were simplified (Eve had no spark in the movie, no anger), leaving you with little indication as to what their thoughts and motivations were. I was particulary disappointed to see that the special circumstances surrounding their initial meeting on the first day of university (the motorcycle accident) was completely rewritten in favour of a lack-lustre introduction. But the biggest disappointment was taking a story about friendship and turning it into a romance movie.

I very recently read Circle of friends, and found it endearing, smart and very true to life. I felt that the movie was a very unsuccessful attempt at smashing the story line to a very tipical flick that was not at all believable. I might have enjoyed the movie more had I not read the book, but I was very distracted at the seemingly non-existing morals that were so much a part of the book. One particular annoyance is the portrayal of Nan, she was an un-likeable character in the book, but there was a means behind the "madness". The movie had you beleiving she was just a whore, but there was a whole sidestory for her motivation to seduce Simon Westward, which wasn't even hinted at in the movie. While I did like the performances of Benny and Eve, I thought Chris O'donnel as Jack was all wrong, he lacked the upbeat sincerely easy-going qualities that made Jack Jack. I would not reccomend this movie to fans of the book that truly understood that is was more than just about some flimsy romance between Benny and Jack. I also want to note that the ending was supremely outside the scope of what is was meant to be. Someone else mentioned that is was a more happy ending than in the book, but I disagree wholeheartedly. In the book you see Benny overcome her sadness and depression from that first love that would inevitably break her heart. The ending in the movie was cliche and typical of hollywood. In my opinion a very flimsy chick-flick with not enough to hold it together.

Perhaps not having read Maeve Binchy's book, in which this film is based, and never seeing the film when it was released, helped this viewer to enjoy it, perhaps more than most people that saw it in its commercial debut. Pat O'Connor and his adapter, Andrew Davies, give us a portrait about the friendship of three young girls in the story, as they go from childhood to womanhood in the Ireland of some time ago.

We meet the three friends as the film opens. There are Benny, Eve and Nan, who are inseparable. They grow up and their relationship continues right through adulthood. The three friends go to university and we see them attending Professor Flynn's class, which seems to be the girls' favorite teacher.

Nan, the prettiest of the three has no prospects of marrying into money. She decides to go after Simon Westwood, a wrong choice that turns out even worse when she discovers he couldn't care less for her. He just wants to marry money and she doesn't have it. Eva, the orphan girl brought up by nuns, has no prospects either, but she has a cottage in the country that Nan finds convenient for exploring her sexuality with Simon.

The best adjusted of the three friends is plain Benny, who seems destined to marry her father's clerk, the reptilian Sean. She has her eyes set on Jack Foley, the hunky jock. Jack in turn likes her, but things intervene between them.

Minnie Driver, is a marvelous presence in the film. She makes the plain Benny come alive. Saffron Burrows is perfect as the vain and beautiful Nan. Geraldine O'Rawe plays Eve. Chris O'Donnell is Jack Foley, who makes a good impression. Alan Cumming, Colin Firth and Ciaran Hinds are perfect in their supporting roles.

"Circle of Friends", while not breaking any ground, is still a good movie to watch because Pat O'Connor's direction and the ensemble acting cast.

This is the first movie I ever saw with Minnie Driver, and I loved how the director made her get porked up for the role. We were meant to see the inner beauty of Benny, of course, but also to see that occasional external loveliness that can come through in her purely emotional situations.

Of course, I thought Nan was acting rather like a whore when she bedded Jack for all the wrong reasons, just as the audience was meant to despise such an act. As a whole, my emotions were pulled in all the right directions, so kudos to the directing crew!

A story of love, friendship, curiosity, betrayal, and forgiveness that hits all the right chords.

First of all, I've never read the novel by Maeve Binchy, so I'm not going to make a comparison between the book and the movie.

The plot:

Set in the 50s. Three young Irish girls with distinguish personalities get their share of lessons about friendship, love, family, betrayal and college life.

The characters:

Minnie Driver is very convincing as Benny, the straightforward, sensitive, caring, and humorous virgin with plum curves, a radiant smile, and expressive eyes. She is an only child and lives with her modest family, taking the bus on a daily basis to go to college in Dublin.

Chris O'Donnell is Jack Foley, a wealthy medical student and rugby star. He is attractive and a tad naive. He and Benny fall in love, their attempts to get close to each other, both in the physical and the emotional sense, are clumsy (because they lack experience), but sincere and touching.

Geraldine O'Rawe is Eve, Benny's lifetime friend, an orphan who was raised by the nuns but who has enough guts to ask for and obtain a scholarship, and stand up for Benny against Nan when need be.

The pretty Saffron Burrows plays Nan, Benny and Eve's childhood friend, who left the village early to live with her family in Dublin. She is very aware of her attractive looks, and attempts to use her wannabe sophistication to trap a wealthy man into marriage when she becomes pregnant with his baby (predictable). But the man rejects her (again, predictable), and so she betrays Benny by seducing Jack and claiming afterwards that she is carrying his child.

Alan Cumming is excellent as Sean Walsh, Benny's father's employee who constantly attempts to seduce the young girl, to no avail. You will probably hate him in this role, he truly is despicable, manipulative, sexually obsessed, voyeur, irritating, etc. His hairstyle (a fringe on the right please) and suspenders make him look ridiculous. In one word, Walsh is a real pain, but Cumming gives an excellent performance here. His sleezy mimics cannot go unnoticed.

The Irish landscape, with its hilltops, pittorresque rivers, woods, small roads, and adorable cottages is one of the fine aspects of the movie.

There isn't much to analyse here, the story line is simple and the dialog pretty straightforward. The overall atmosphere of the film is friendly, warm and 'cozy'.

There is definitely an emotional bond between Benny and the viewers, unless you're too much of a cynic to sympathize with a sensitive, self-conscious, modest girl set on a (realistic) journey of womanhood.