That was an excellent one.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

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.

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.

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.