Falling for a Dancer

First of all, I want to say that this movie was shot on the Beara peninsula in southwestern Ireland, not anywhere near Dingle, which is miles and miles away. How do I know that? I know it because Beara is my mother's birthplace and I have spent many months living there during my life. In fact, the "farm" location of this picture is only about a quarter mile from my own. The village (with all the modern elements painted out) is our village of Eyeries. The graveyard by the sea is the old cemetery of Kilcatherine.

That said I found this movie to be a very run-of-the-mill romantic melodrama in, what must be for most viewers, an exoctic locale. Some of the acting was good, some was dreadful. The best job was done by Liam Cunningham in the role of Mossie Sheehan. I found his portrayal of the silently yearning and misunderstood neighbor to be quite wonderful. And, he captured the rather difficult Beara accent beautifully. Most of the other actors are adequate, though no more. I found the heroine, played by Elizabeth Dermot-Walsh, to be barely believable in her role. Some of the plot is so inconsistent as to really puzzle.

And the saddest thing about this movie is the use made of some of the most glorious scenery this world has to offer. Beara is a peninsula with a thick spine of mountain, surrounded by the ocean (Bantry Bay to the south, Kenmare Bay to the north). Most of the movie seems to have been shot toward the mountains and in the rain. There are very few scenes shot in good weather and only a few glimpses of the astonishing vista over the ocean (during the burial of Neillie Scholard) and the morning when Beth talks to her daughter about how beautiful the day is. Maybe the shooting schedule took place during a rainy period, but this is a pity.

Hard land, tough circumstances, real people. This is a movie to watch with a mug of tea and a box of kleenex. It's impossible not to be swept into the story of a woman, repeatedly knocked down, but who manages NOT to be a victim. A slow and gentle love story - the best kind. Wonderful performances, terrific casting, wonderful viewing.

Unlike most of the other reviewer's, my reasons for watching this movie where not based upon the fact that Colin Farrell is one of the actors. I know that he's a very good actor, but I'm really not a fan. Anyway if you're hoping that he's a main characture, sorry, but his part is one of the smaller roles. I first read about this movie, while I was browsing here, at Amazon.com, having read all of the positive reviews (and a few not so positive reviews), I bought it on DVD, and was not disapointed. In my opinion, this is a wonderful minniseries/movie. The actors and actresses all did beautiful jobs portraying their charactures. However, I must say that the performance of Liam Cunningham as Mossie Sheenan seemed to me, the most poignant. The rest of the cast, Elizabeth Dermot-Walsh (Elizabeth), Dermot Crowley (Neely), Colin Ferrall (Danny) and the rest of the cast were all wonderful. I won't bother writting about the plot of the movie, sesne the other reviewers have done such a great job in doing so. Although I will say that the ending, while bittersweet, is beautiful, and exactly what I wished for it to be. I highly recomend this movie.