Touches You

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Two women on two different parts of the world, and both dealing with crises in their lives, decide to take a breather from the situations they are facing, and swap houses. Thus, Marilyn, an American woman who is grieving after the tragic death of her son, goes to Dublin, to the Tara Road house of Ria, who gets the Connecticut house of the Yankee woman. This premise, which is the basis of Maeve Binchy's novel, seems to be almost the same plot of the recent film "The Vacation" in which a similar situation takes place.Unfortunately, the material written for the screen, doesn't add anything new. In fact, this is a film full of stereotypes on both sides of the Atlantic. Not having read the original work, one can't really say what went wrong, but based on the thin screen play of the movie, one loses all kind of interest in what is presented. Director Gillies McKinnon has done better movies before. Alas, this one will not add anything to his CV.The best thing in "Tara Road" is Olivia Williams, an fine young actress who seems to be above and beyond what she is being asked to do. Andie MacDowell casts a gloomy aura in her portrayal of Marilyn. Fine actors are completely wasted, as is the case with Brenda Fricker, Stephen Rea, the young and beautiful Sarah Bolger, who we admired for her work in "In America".As soap operas go, this film will, no doubt, appeal to a certain type of movie goer. Thankfully we didn't have to pay for it since it was shown on cable, recently.

I love this book and had heard it was coming to the big screen, but cannot remember seeing it advertised in England. I happened to look on another film and saw an actor who had been credited as appearing in Tara Road 2005, which I then looked up. I have read some of the comments posted by other users who have seen the film and note that it was screened in Ireland. Was it screened in England and if so, how on earth did I miss it! Reading other comments makes me want to rush out and watch it now, but I note a comment that it is not available on DVD. ANyone with any info can you please let me know. Out of all of Maeve Binchy's books, this one was my favourite and I can read it over and over again, so the film would be a real treat.

Between all this summer blockbuster mayhem, the premise of TARA ROAD seemed like a welcome change. I prepared myself to see a well-acted drama with a touch of subtle comedy, driven by a solid plot able to strike the right chords. When it comes to the acting and the afore-mentioned genre description my assumptions proved to be right. The plot on the other hand...The basic idea of the movie certainly is interesting. Andie MacDowell (respectable as always) plays a married American woman who loses her 15-year-old son in a motorcycle accident. Around the same time, somewhere in Ireland, Olivia Williams (another respectable actress) is told by her husband that he's going to leave her for his younger and pregnant girlfriend. Through an impulsive phone-call by MacDowell, the two women get in contact (for the first time!) and without knowing each other's background, they suddenly decide to swap houses for a few months.I never read the bestseller by Maeve Binchy, so I can't compare it to this motion picture. But in the movie director Gillies MacKinnon introduces some interesting characters to the audience, only he doesn't do much with them. Both women take this perhaps life-altering decision to come to terms with the recent dramatical events in their lives. But eventually the road they choose to take just leads to nowhere. No renewed visions on their lives, no reflections on their past. So this clearly isn't the good movie that TARA ROAD should have been.At one point the Irish Ria encounters a possible love-interest at the doorstep of her American home (or at least the opportunity to have sex with no strings attached...). But does she indeed take that chance? In Ireland there was this scene in Stephen Rea's restaurant where, during a quiet dinner, the American Marilyn gets invited to sit at the table of a bunch of Ria's friends (including her cheating husband and his girlfriend). This was the most suitable moment to insert some clever, cynical dialogues, a slip of tongue by one of the characters, a misinterpretation of some sort or a subtle stab below the belt. Unfortunately, none of all that. I won't give away what does happen during that dinner, but it was not what I wanted to see.Those two random scenes perfectly describe the final feeling I was left with when this movie was finished: missed potential. Add to that a predictable happy ending where even the cheating husband gets what he deserves (what that exactly means, you can see for yourselves if you still want to see the movie) and it's safe to say that there were more things I disliked than otherwise. There still were a few enjoyable scenes in it, though, like the scene where Ria starts smashing Marilyn's expensive vases (let's see if you see that one coming), or the ones where Iain Glenn tries to get what he wants by telling subtle lies and sweet-talking everybody. But those were just a few raindrops in a puddle of mud. And when the story is over and done with, you have the feeling that both women could have just as well stayed at home to solve their problems.Maybe slightly older people (or let's say: adult married or divorced couples with teenage children) can relate better to this movie (and thereby appreciate it more). It probably has something to do with the urge to find new challenges in life, but feeling just a bit too old to accept/undergo the consequences of the changes they cause. I have no idea, but I didn't get much out of TARA ROAD.

I attended the Premiere of this movie in Dublin on 29 Sept. The audience LOVED it! It was not the book, as much was "left out" but the essence of the book was there. Iian Glen was the best cad I ever saw! Andie MacDowell was a perfect Marilyn. Olivia was also very good as Ria.Stephen Rea was Colm and who doesn't like to see Stephen...doing anything.I can't picture anyone else as Colm. Maria Doyle Kenndey came through as Rosemary. Brenda Fricker stole the show as McCarthy's wife. The biggest thrill for the Dublin audience was the appearance of Maeve Binchy and her author husband,Gordon Snell as customers in Colms restaurant..a loud cheer came as they came on the screen. I only hope Maeve's American fans will get the chance to see the movie version of Tara Road! Her fans will love it