Tara Road (2005)

That was an excellent one.

Sorry, this movie sucks

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Liked the movie after some initial troubles, as it has lost SO much of the subtlety & history in the book & it puts a magnifying glass on only the last third of the book from when the 2 women connect. But it turned out to be very good in it's own right, concentrating on the crossroads and working through grief. The music also gives a powerful cachet. The Irish male Blarney charmers are snake bastards, well portrayed and seem to come off lightly. The loss of the dream related to them is a familiar theme for Maeve Binchy by now, it also figures in her book Firefly summer. You might enjoy it. Give it a try. It is good stuff for a nice crazy evening with Irish slants & Ruby Wax!

The problem with this movie is that it starts in the middle of the novel. Maeve Binchy writes great novels, chock full of characters, but that doesn't mean they will adapt well to the big screen. Tara Road covers a bigger span of time (approximately 16 years) than Gone With the Wind did, so it would make sense that a "full" Tara Road would be at least three hours, if not more.Because the movie starts in the middle of the novel, we don't have enough time to sympathize with Ria Lynch, who has just found out her husband has a pregnant mistress. In the book, we are with Ria from the beginning, and we ache for her as we find out what's been going on with Danny and his various lovers almost right from the start of the marriage. He flat-out married her because she was pregnant with Annie; we find that out in an early part of the book where he tells a woman that Ria means nothing to him.The woman she exchanges houses with, Marilyn, is trying to recover from her son's death. In the book, we find out he really did cause his own death, and not his friend. His friend ends up getting blamed for it.So the two women exchange houses to get away from their grief. Ria, normally outgoing and social, finds that she is a great cook, and that her romantic life is not over, and happiness without Danny is possible. Marilyn finds herself talking about her son, Dale. She finally cries, releasing her grief and getting involved with people, whereas when she was back in the States, she was very remote after her son's death.I won't reveal the ending details. I do think that the actresses in the lead roles weren't quite right in terms of what they looked like in the book. Marilyn had short hair, and was athletic. Ria has dark, curly hair, and probably average height. Olivia Williams is a much spunkier Ria, and with long, smooth hair. Marilyn, who was portrayed by Andie MacDowell, didn't have the right hair.Ria's husband was not nearly as handsome and boyish, as he was described in the book. In the movie, the actor playing him seemed way too wrinkled and nowhere near "boyish." He also seemed to have zero charm.Much has been said about the actress who played Annie. I thought she was okay. She's a teenager when we meet her in the movie, and she was also upset in the book when she found out her dad was leaving them.Rosemary was also played by an actress who didn't look anything like the Rosemary in the novel: tall, slim and blonde. It was very disappointing to see people in roles where the characters are described so fully, you can practically see them, resemble NOTHING of the characters they are playing.I've read and re-read Tara Road; it's probably a Gone With the Wind for my generation. But the movie was disappointing. It's no wonder this was selling for $1 at the Dollar Tree.

It may have started slow, however the BUILD UP was worth waiting.The PLOT is not two strangers sharing prospective homes in different countries, NO NO, it is how they each cope first with their own grief and sorrows and then how they assist one another. When Marilyn overheard how not only did he cheat on Ria, he also cheated with her best friend.Again over hearing the statement 'Jack Boot' describing Marilyn whom originally horrified by such remark, later utilized same to show who was in charge. When Marilyn met boss' wife and they hatched a plan to salvage RIA's home and smartly done around the dining room table with all characters present, was a STROKE OF GENIUS..Again no jumping in & out of bed with all actors, just plausible story telling. I do not understand the Colm character. Possibly because every time I see Rea I think of the "Crying Game"..To pair him up with Andie MacDowell is ludicrous as she is 'CLASS PERSONIFIED'. I was happy that no involvement became a better story then jumping into bed..

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.