Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, Gabriel Byrne, Donal Finn, Fionn O’Shea and Ann Skelly
Distributor: The Reset Collective
Runtime: 109 mins. Reviewed in Jul 2025
Reviewer: Peter W Sheehan
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This Irish and United Kingdom, English speaking romantic drama tells the story of a couple who were made for each other, and who become victims of fate.
The film is based on the international debut novel by Niall Williams of the same name, written by him and published in 1997. The film chronicles contemporary Irish life, and offers a portrait of tragedy, redemption and love. Williams wrote the screenplay to the movie. In his novel, a 12-year-old boy was told by his father that he was determined to become a painter, and the father leaves his wife and son behind, with no income, so that he can paint.
This film is a lyrical, romantic story of follow-up events, in which Brosnan, Bonham Carter and Byrne play an integral part of separate stories that are told. O’Shea plays the older Nicholas Coughlan, and Skelly plays Isabel (Issy) Gore. Nicholas and Isabel are fated lovers destined to be with each other, and the power of love eventually pulls them together.
Isabel and Nicholas live on an island with Isabel’s father (Byrne) and Isabel’s loving mother (Bonham Carter). A tragic accident occurs when Isabel’s younger brother Sean (Donal Finn) suddenly has a paralysing stroke that threatens his survival. This film integrates separate storylines and brings the Williams’ novel powerfully to the screen. Polly Steele, as director, uses Irish locations (eg, Donegal and Antrim) to provide scenic backdrops to sweeping narratives propelled by destiny, and she constantly cuts between present and past events that eventually re-connect. At the end of the film, Isabel reunites with Nicholas in a loving embrace.
Complex narratives in this film communicate the hidden meaning of the different stories that are told. The film is well acted, directed, and photographed. This is a deeply romantic love story, that offers challenging thoughts on what keeps a marriage alive, and the tragedy that can result when the wrong person is chosen.
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