I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This is the only feature film directed by the well-known London theatre director, Deborah Warner. It is a pity she has not made more. She has a wonderful feeling for mood and atmosphere, and this film is soaked in it. The story is from a novel by Elizabeth Bowen and concerns the landed gentry known as Anglo-Irish who once inhabited grand mansions in southern Ireland (Eire) until the Troubles, when most of the mansions were burnt down (a great loss to architecture) by the 'republicans'. The film centres upon the great house and grounds of the Naylor family, and does not deal with the larger picture in Ireland. The remarkable Keeley Hawes starred in this film just before appearing in WIVES AND DAUGHTERS (1999, see my review), and as she began acting on television at the age of 13, she was already a trooper by this time, aged 23. There is no doubt that Hawes has always been, and continues to be a most impressive actress, as she proves once again here. In the story, the beautiful and skittish young Hawes has known since childhood a sinister young man who has now become an IRA killer, and she helps to conceal him in a local ruin, bringing him food and comfort. She does this despite knowing that he has just killed someone, fascinated by the evil of him and feeling no compunction because she likes the thrill and finds him sensually exciting. She lives with her aunt and uncle. The uncle is played with his usual expansive flair and mellifluous voice by Michael Gambon, while the aunt is played by Maggie Smith, who adds her lustre as always. An unexpected intrusion into the story is a visiting woman played by Jane Birkin, who adds a mysterious presence. An especially fine performance is given by Fiona Shaw, who effortlessly dominates scenes when she is in them. As Ireland and the characters of the story hurtle towards tragedy, we see a true 'end of an era', filmed on location in one beautiful rambling old house which seems to have avoided destruction. As visions of lost worlds go, this is a fine one, and the story is absorbing and beautifully filmed. The costumes were by John Bright personally, not just by his firm Cosprop. I remember him well from when he was just beginning, way back when, in yet another lost era called the sixties. The music is by Zbigniew Preisner, and is therefore highly superior, as is his wont. The film had no less than eleven producers, so many that they outnumber the main players in the cast. One is reminded of the 'Irish joke' which asks how many Irishmen it takes to change a light bulb. Never mind, wars can still be won when there are too many generals, as long as there is a good director on hand. This film deserves much more attention than it has had, and is a truly wonderful evocation of a time and place now lost in history.

If you're fond of British costume dramas like "Wives and Daughters" or "Downton Abbey," then this won't be the first time you've seen Michael Gambon as the dithery country squire or, God knows, Maggie Smith as the sharp-tongued lady of the manor or even Keeley Hawes as the out-of-control ingenue that's got everyone so worried about her. This time the setting's a little different—a rural estate in County Cork in 1920, about halfway through the Irish struggle for independence. Other big names in Anglo-Irish drama and letters are involved (novelist Elizabeth Bowen, director Deborah Warner, actress Fiona Shaw, who plays a witchy houseguest), plus 80s fashion icon Jane Birkin in a minor role and a couple of artful Kieslowski cronies as cinematographer and composer. The plot's a bit creaky—KH's character is being courted by an eager British officer, but soon discovers that a childhood friend, now a fugitive IRA gunman, is lurking on the grounds—and the pacing in the opening scenes is suitably Chekhovian, but the resolution is fast and furious, even a bit confusing at one point (how does Peter get away?). Though I'm not sure this prestige project quite adds up to the sum of its parts, we still found it fascinating, and we've watched it on streaming Netflix a couple of times. Film buffs (and home furnishing buffs!) might prefer to send for the DVD to get the full effect of the production values, and the sound levels on streaming are erratic.

An end of a privileged era...Irish that served the British are about to lose it all. It is 1920 and independence for southern Ireland is only a year away. There is violence and guerrilla warfare.Set amongst this Lois (the lead heroine) of this novel film flirts with a British Captain and falls in love with an Irish nationalist. In the end during their second meeting (Lois and nationalist) the British Captain is killed and Lois goes off to greener pastures.The setting is beautiful but there is a gloom of impending defeat.The best part of the movie is the beautifully recreated scenery of 1920.The story sort of limps along in a vapid way with no tension or excitement. The 3 way love triangle just isn't defined well enough to carry the entire thing--at least not the way it was done.Most cinema goers would have no clue about the political importance of the piece...the word BLAND comes to mind as an over all description of the movie.About the only people this film might appeal to are those interested in Irish politics however not the N. Irish that is for sure it is much too sympathetic to the rebels. For the rest of us the politics is a yawn.DO NOT RECOMMEND

The story is convoluted. But the strength (and the JOY) of this film is the manner in which it has so genuinely captured an era and a place, the Ireland of 1920. The camera work is unique. It came as no surprise to see that the director is a woman. Deborah Warner brings a soft and compassionate understanding to her subject which would be beyond a male. Her framing, her angles, her pacing are all perfection. She gets everything out of her actors. Maggie Smith never has been better. This is a fine and memorable film in which the story is really less important than the dream like images that support it. It's artistry.