It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Truly hilarious, although this is meant to be a serious drama. I shun Albert Finney for taking such a part and Vicki Smurfitt is as usual her ugly, wooden self. There is no time suggested as to when the movie is meant to be set, its not the nineties or eighties more like the fifties but in that case why are people driving nineties car models? And since when did people in the border area of Ireland go to watch birds fighting?? Mostlikely you will find them shopping or surfing the net. This movie should have never been made, written or even considered. Badly acted the aforementioned Vicki Smufitt is like Keanu Reeves only not a pretty. Sad but true

There is no need to warn people away from "The Run of the Country" because at this point you are not exactly deluged with viewing opportunities. That said there is little reason to track down this film unless you yearn for some nice Irish scenery (including a fair red-haired Irish lass-Victoria Smurfit of "Berkeley Square" fame).Although directed by Peter Yates, do not expect anything on the level of his "Breaking Away" masterpiece. Shane Connaughton adapted his own novel about characters living near the "artificial" border between the two Irelands. His characters are all contradictions. Teenage Danny (Matt Keeslar) is cold and reserved but given to moments of extreme impulse and passion. His father (Albert Finney) fluctuates between a wise caring philosopher and a nasty frustrated bully. His wild friend Prunty (Anthony Brophy) is a fun-loving free spirit who is secretly a very active member of the IRA. His red-haired Irish girl is the product of a mixed (Catholic-Protestant) marriage and fluctuates between a mature self-possessed young woman and a weak little girl who inexplicably fails to do and say very obvious things that would improve the situation. These contradictions might be effective allegorical elements in the novel but do not translate to believable characters in the context of a film, where there is not adequate time to explore their motivations and complexities.The production is technically solid and the supporting cast is excellent. Brophy is the best of the leads and Keeslar is worst. If there was a box office reason for casting a handsome American actor as Danny (who was not a pretty boy in the novel), it did not serve them well and it totally alters the basic charm of the core romance.The scenery is nice, David Kelly (the Irish builder O'Reilly in "Fawlty Towers) is excellent as the local priest, Carole Nimmons is very entertaining as Mrs. Prunty, and there are some funny lines. The weakest parts of the film are the closing scenes, which are soap opera melodrama. Up to this point the film has maintained a generally realistic tone and the resolution comes across as contrived and unlikely (insert disappointing here).

"Run of the Country" tells of the coming of age of a young Irish man, recently bereaved of his mother, living with his martinet father, and falling in love with a girl from the other Ireland. A solid production on most counts, the film delivers too little too late in story making for a meandering watch lacking cohesion. Okay fodder for sentimentalists best saved for tv. (C-)

The movie was powerful enough to help me realize I was in love. It defined the boundaries between romance, lust, affection, and love. Placed in the heart of the Irish countryside, "Run of the Country" explored the clash between a tradition-based generation and its modern offspring on subjects as delicate as love, sex, marriage, and family. Ultimately, if you're lucky enough to be in love with an Irish, you'll know exactly why.