ottavio-corsini
Could someone explain why Jim does not want to be with Yvvonne?
shakercoola
This intense drama has several themes. Is love always conditional? How well do we ever really know another person? It satisfactorily poses these questions and gives us tension in the portrayal. The middle class aspect to their lives is a bit of a distraction and adds nothing to the central questions it attempts to answer. When infedility occurs it feels like it' ha no foundation, just purely passion and misery - there are no mechanics that judge either side. An engaging drama.
Nadine1301
When I read last year that Andrew Scott and Cillian Murphy would be making a film together I got very excited, as they are both absolute favourites of mine.
When I then read some online reviews after the film came out in Ireland, criticising it as boring, hugely disappointing and dull I almost didn't watch it, and how sad that would have been. I'm not entirely sure which film these critics saw, but I found it anything but boring and disappointing.
Quite the contrary... I watched it about 5 days ago and it is still stuck in my head and I keep of finding myself thinking back to it.
Yes, it is slow paced in places, it doesn't have crazy twists and turns every 15 minutes and if you compare it to other relationship & affair dramas it's nowhere near as shocking, but thats exactly what made it so much more interesting to me. It's so realistic! It feels exactly what I'd imagine it would feel like to have an affair, and the the way the story unfolds is extremely close to life and makes you feel exhilarated but completely uncomfortable at the same time. Yes, you can tell that the director has only directed theatre productions, which gives the film a certain spareness, but once again this makes it more unique to me. It's not overloaded with side stories and mind blowing cinematography, it gets to the point of human feelings & needs. The constant questioning of what is right and wrong, of what makes you happy and how far you're allowed to go for it, of who you are and who you want to be and the issues you might have with yourself that lead to having an affair are so well played out, so is the struggle with love vs. lust and what it all really means!
At the end I felt like I really knew these people, and I deeply felt for them. It's such a small but perfect cast and such a tender and yet uncomfortable story. I personally can only very highly recommend it and will definitely watch it again.
Bertaut
Treats well the topic of middle-class malaise and ennui, the film deftly shifts the audience's sympathy multiple times throughout. Writer/director Mark O'Rowe misses a great opportunity for a really powerful dénouement, however, letting the narrative drag on for 10 minutes too long. Still though, it's well acted, and extremely realistic, attaining an almost documentarian objectivity at times. Well worth checking out. 7/10
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