Tara Road

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.

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.

One of Maeve Binchey's most popular novels, complete with a useful American angle, this was an obvious choice for the big screen. However, the story of two women (one Irish, one American) who house-swap makes for a difficult transition in practice. Quite a long novel, it also compresses awkwardly, losing much of its charm and intelligence along the way. The film is not helped by lack-lustre central performances. MacDowell seems out of practice, and Williams (almost invariably seen hitherto in starchy British roles) does not make a convincing Irish housewife. Her emoting seems brittle (even shrill) and she seems uncomfortable with emotion generally. Overall the film looks good and is well filmed, but does not hold the attention except perhaps for die-hard Binchey fans, many of whom will be disappointed at the inevitable over-simplification.

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.

I read the book (quite a large one I must say) some months ago and so it was still fresh in my memory when I saw this film. Well, this is one of the worse book adaptations I ever seen! From where to start? From the fact that the 3/4 of the book are literally gone? From the flat performances of all the actors with the likely exception of Andie MacDowel? The miscasting of Ria and Rosemary? The change of Ria in America that it looks like it happened in a split second? Not explaining why the house was that important?

I understand it is a big book and they should to summarized it, but it was supposed not to lose it's meaning on the way. Well, it certainly did. Ria is a strong woman at the book even before her marriage fell apart. In the film she is portrayed like a weakling, ready to collapse from the first set. She has a smile like a retard on her face and she's like wearing a sign "kick me".

Rosemary is supposed to be drop dead gorgeous woman in the book, while in the film she is more like an overdecorated spinster. Danny is supposed to be a man that looks considerably younger than his age, still having boyish looks in his forties. However, the actor looks like he is a 50 year old pretending he is 40 with that ridiculously long hair....

Lastly, the meaning of the house of the title, is that Danny was the one that chose it and hanged on to it in the first place and Ria only learned to love it because of Danny's affection to it. That makes his betrayal even bigger, since he made her love the house and he finally was trying to get her out of it.

The only reasons I did not grade this film with a 4 or a 3, was the cameo appearance of Ms. Binchy (the book's author) at a scene (at the restaurant's bar, the lady dressed in blue) and the somehow more condensed ending, even if seemed quite rushed.

If you really want to feel the magic of Maeve Binchy's book in a film, I would definitely recommend "The Circle of Friends (1995)".