Tara Road

Have you ever been so lost you wanted to run away? If you envied Diane Lane's impulsive move to Italy in Under the Tuscan Sun, you'll probably love Andie MacDowell's vacation to Ireland in Tara Road.

Before the much more popular The Holiday, two women swap homes to help each other get over a personal hurdle. Olivia Williams, from Ireland, just got dumped by her husband, Iaian Glen, and travels to America to get her groove back. Andie MacDowell lost her young son in a tragic accident, and she thinks a change of scenery will help. Just like The Holiday, both women make new friends in their new houses and blossom in their new environments. While Olivia's scenes are a bit lighter and full of the fun her character needs, Andie's scenes are a bit darker. She meets Stephen Rea, who helps her deal with her grief and see light at the end of the tunnel. There are so many similarities between the two house-swapping movies, that if you liked one, it's a safe bet you'll like the other. Rent either one with a bunch of girlfriends and have a good time!

Been really wanting to see this movie and it is just being released in North America now so here is my review...

The good - Anything by Maeve Binchy has to be great. Love her work. Her stories, her characters. Really liked "Danny" - he was just as I had imagined him. Also liked "Colm" and "Mona". Loved the scenery of Dublin and seeing what Tara Road looked like. The house is beautiful. Have always liked Andie McDowell... more on that later. The movie is good if taken on its own merit as a story on its own.

The bad - The characters of Ria, Rosemary and Marilyn were just not right. In the book Ria has curly unruly hair and undergoes more of a transformation in Ireland. Marilyn is supposed to be uptight and with short hair... didn't get that here. Rosemary is supposed to be gorgeous - again, not here. Many of the US characters seem more like caricatures than anything. And Andy Vine looks terrible - why would anyone find him attractive compared to Danny?

The ugly - it just differed from the book too much. The book is great and I wanted to see it put on film. This was different, in the same way Circle of Friends was different. If you are a Maeve Binchy fan you will enjoy seeing this on the screen, but it is not the Tara Road I read and loved.

Given that I have read the book (at least once) and loved it, I felt that this made the transition to the Big Screen fairly painlessly, after all it was a Big Book and time is limited. I went with someone who had not it, and we both enjoyed the film. I didn't find the acting hammy nor the shortcuts overly intrusive. A six-part drama would have covered all points better obviously but this movie told the tale adequately, the characters were all well-drawn and the mood of the book translated well onto the screen. I loved that we could get the ambiance of each home quickly and the circle of friends that each woman had. The kids were great - my only criticism would perhaps be that Danny was not quite smooth enough; it was hard to fall for his legendary charm.

I think the movie did a good job of "summarizing" the book. I don't think it's possible to develop characters as well on-screen, as in a few hundred pages of paper and ink. A mini-series would have done the book more justice. I can see where it would be possible to see this movie, and be disappointed.

If you've read the book, you'll like the movie. If you don't like to read, get the audio CDs.

This story is a summary of a book with vivid descriptions of places and people. The "mind movie" that resulted from reading the book, pretty much matched what I saw on the screen. The home in New England... well, didn't look like New England.

Ria (Olivia Williams) lives in Dublin with her husband and two children, a newly teen girl and son a couple of years younger. Their residence is called Tara Road. Alas, bad, hurtful news arrives soon enough. After a birthday party for her younger child, hubby announces that he has a galfriend on the side and she's pregnant. Devastated, Ria doesn't know which way to turn. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Marilyn (Andie McDowell) is equally in despair. Her only child, a teen son, had a motorcycle accident and passed away, also at a birthday party. Not even her caring husband can raise her spirits. She sends him off to a vacation in Hawaii alone, for she has other plans. A while ago, Marilyn heard of a house swap in Dublin and calls the number. It's Ria, who answers in the middle of the night. Nevertheless, this exchange sounds just like what she needs, too. So, off Ria goes to Connecticut while Marilyn boards a plane to Ireland. Slowly, the plan works. Marilyn meets a gardener/chef Colin (Stephen Rea) whose gentle attention and good humor helps this Yankee immensely. Then, Ria is beset with Marilyn's good buddies who plan outings and conversations. But, is there still some secrets to uncover? If it is so, will Ria and Marilyn learn to unlock their hearts again? This lovely movie has too little of Ireland but otherwise is great! Actually, the scenes in Dublin are wonderful and so are the venues in the States. In addition, the acting is touching, with Williams and McDowell giving carefully nuances performances and the supporting cast, even the so-called villains, doing fine work, too. Costumes, script and steady direction help move the film admirably to the end. Are you a person grieving the loss of someone important or do you just like romantic, thoughtful dramas? Then, tarry someday with Tara Road very soon.